


Don't Keep Secrets

by Hinn_Raven



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Ensemble Cast, F/M, Loads and Loads of Characters - Freeform, Original Character(s), Original Villain(s) - Freeform, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-22
Updated: 2011-10-17
Packaged: 2018-12-18 00:17:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 46,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11862669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hinn_Raven/pseuds/Hinn_Raven
Summary: When Raven starts having strange dreams, Robin is forced to call every Titan back to Jump City- and the timing couldn't be worse! With a possible traitor within the group and couples going crazy, things are going from weird to chaotic- and fast!





	1. Prologue: Newspapers

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N: Well, I've decided that it's about time that I start this story. It's been lingering in my mind and my notebook for a while now, so I figure it's ready. And so, let it begin!**
> 
> **Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans; otherwise they would have a season 6, at least.**

The news was easy to find. It was splashed all over every paper, whispered about in every villainous hang-out. Gossip magazines proclaimed it, and it was even mentioned on the news. It was the largest thing that had happened among the super-hero community since Tokyo.

All of the Titans had been called back to base. Every single teenaged hero was now staying in the big T that stood in the middle of Jump City.

And of course it caught her eye.

There had been no official announcement of course; no need to tell every villain on Earth that they had temporarily abandoned their stations. But everyone knew anyway. She would just have to hope that no one struck; that would inconvenience her plans. Most villains wouldn't want all of the Titans in one big clump: as a group, they could be dangerous. She didn't really doubt that, but she did doubt the team. They  _were_  teenagers after all. Hormones still ruled, whether or not you were assigned to protecting a city. The pictures of Robin and Starfire together that had been splashed all over the magazines was proof enough. A smirk traveled up the girl's face. Her plan would work. Probably even better than before. She loved it when the 'good-guys' did something that helped.

Her eyes drifted to the photos attached to the article in the newspaper, which discussed the possibility of a Titan Reunion. Evidence ranged from a cancellation of a Titans East public appearance, reports of Kid Flash flirting with the Mayor of Jump City's daughter, and blurry photographs that apparently were Aqualad swimming off the nearby coast. None of these necessarily added up to anything, but the public ate it up.

She folded up the paper, and slipped it in her bag. She would have liked to finish the article, but the sight of a teenage girl reading a newspaper, particularly the News section of the  _Jump City Daily_ , was not a common sight. Most girls would have eagerly satisfied themselves with lower forms of literature. But she wasn't exactly normal.

"Come on," she whispered, starting down the streets, down to one of the city's most famous landmarks and tourist attractions. She shook her head to herself. Super-heroes meant super-villains. Why hadn't anyone caught on? If civilians had any sense, they would flee this city before the Titans had collapsed.

Which, if she had anything to say about it, would be very soon.

Her smirk growing a little bit, she suddenly swung her elbow out. Her sharp joint connected with the stomach of a red-haired girl, who cried out in pain and doubled over, clutching her middle, and the girl quickly left the scene, leaving the red-haired girl cursing under her breath.

She got back up slowly; it had been more shock than pain that had caused her to shout. Two of her friends suddenly arrived at her elbows, helping her straighten.

"Bitch," one of them muttered, glaring at the retreating figure that was the brunette attacker.

The other girl nodded in agreement. "We'll get her back, don't worry," she said darkly.

"I don't really care-" began the red-haired girl, leaning over to retrieve the shopping bags that she had been carrying.

"We do," interrupted the first girl, "Do you know her?"

"No, Liz," replied the red-head with a sigh, looking towards the area where the brown haired girl was.

"Bet she goes to that snotty school of Seventh," said her other friend knowledgably, "The one with the uniforms."

"The one I transferred from?" said the red-head with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry, Dana! But you know it's true," complained Liz, clearly starting up an old argument.

"Come one," said the other girl, "Let's go to my place. Mom's making pizza."

With that, the girls scurried off, forgetting the dark-haired girl.

* * *

What Dana hadn't told her friends was that just before the girl had disappeared into the crowd, she had seen something. A figure, tall and ghost-like, almost invisible, standing right behind the girl. She hadn't mentioned it because when she blinked, it was gone.

And anyways, things like that were never real.

Meanwhile, in the middle of Jump City bay, in the middle of the main room of Titans' Tower, a certain boy wonder stood on a couch.

"Order! Order!" he shouted, in a desperate attempt to be heard over him numerous comrades, all of whom seemed intent on drowning him out by speaking as loud as they could.

"Please listen to me!" he pleaded, noticing that not even Starfire, who was busy in a conversation with Red Star, was listening. Only a few people had noticed his dilemma, and most of them were too busy laughing at the sight to do anything.

" _QUIET!"_  Jinx yelled. Silence fell.


	2. Arrivals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Thanks everyone who's read so far: I honestly did not expect to get so much feedback from the first chapter. I won't keep you wondering for long, let's get this story going!**

Kid Flash and Jinx had been the first to arrive, of course. The red-haired speedster had appeared in a blur, carrying his slightly motion-sick girlfriend on his back. She staggered slightly, but managed to recover, sending a glare at him the whole time, much to the amusement of Cyborg and Beast Boy.

The Herald was next, bringing a cheerful Jericho and Bushido with him. He took off again afterwards, claiming he had another lot to pick up.

Bumblebee and the Titans East swung then swung by in their ship, with a surly looking Lightning and a calm Thunder riding on the roof.

After Lightning had had time to gripe for a few minutes, Herald returned, this time with Argent, Hot Spot, and Kilowatt following in his wake.

The next to arrive were Kole and Gnarrk, with an armful of toddlers- Melvin, Timmy, and Teether, and of course, Bobby had tagged along.

Slowly but surely, the rest of the Titans had trickled in. Raven observed all of it from her seat on the couch. If her hood had been down, all of the Titans would surely have known something was wrong. Raven was several shades paler, and her expression was remarkably gloomy, even for her. She hadn't even tried to help Jinx murder Kid Flash for flirting with her, which was slightly worrying. Not that Jinx had really noticed; she was too busy chewing him out.

Only her team knew this, but Raven was the one, not Robin, who had called this meeting.

And it was all because of a dream…

* * *

A few hours after waking up, seven days ago, Raven had informed the team of the basics of her dream. And after a long, slightly pointless meeting, the vote was unanimous; the Titans must be called in, from all corners of the globe.

Raven was then pulled out of her reverie by Melvin shouting her name, and then found herself in a massive tackle hug, courtesy of her adopted kids.

"Raven!" screamed Melvin, beaming up at her 'mother'

"We missed you!" yelled Timmy, waving his blanket over his head.

"Did you miss us?" Melvin inquired.

"RA!" added Teether, who apparently decided he had been left out of the conversation.

"I did," Raven informed Melvin, picking up Teether. The baby let out a giggle of delight, as Melvin wrapped both arms around Raven's thigh, before sitting on her feet.

"The monks are nice, but they're not as cool as you!" sang Melvin, "But they  _do_  do better bed-time stories," she smiled mischievously up at Raven.

Raven rolled her eyes, remembering her original bed-time story she had told them, before leaning over to allow Timmy to embrace her.

"Who knew Raven actually hugged people?" said Beast Boy, watching the empath embrace the super-hero toddlers.

"Where  _were_  you, grass-stain?" Cyborg asked, searching for the remote, lifting up the part of the couch that Beast Boy was currently sitting on. "Her and those kids… she's like one of those bear-mothers you hear about. Don't mess with them, or she'll mess with you."

"I  _know_ , Cy, but it's, you know,  _Raven_. You wouldn't think that she hugs anyone, not even them."

"Put your eyes back in your head," advised the half-machine teenager, "If she catches you staring, she'll get pretty angry,"

"Wha-"

"SPARKY!" yelled Bumblebee from the other side of the room. She held Más and Menos apart in each arm, who were screaming at each other, apparently in one of their rare fights.

"¡Tenía la idea de darle las flores, no la tuya! ¡No robes el crédito!" screamed Menos, waving his fists towards his brother.

"¿Cómo te atreves a acusar a mí? ¡La idea fue mía!" replied his twin, mirroring the gesture.

"Guys, cool it! Bee, what's going on?" Cyborg exclaimed, making his way towards Bumblebee.

"I- don't- know!" she yelled, as the twins began to swing their weight back and forth, making keeping her grip on them much more difficult. "They started talking to Starfire, you know how they are about her, and then Más showed her some flowers, then Menos got angry at something he said, and then they started fighting! Took Speedy three arrows to separate them, and they weren't even going that fast!"

"M & M,  _calm down_ ," Cyborg ordered, glaring at them. The twins paused briefly, looking up at their former leader. "Now. What happened?"

The twins exploded, releasing a burst of Spanish that went so fast that even Cyborg's newly installed translator couldn't quite keep up.

"Okay, I think I'm getting the gist of this!" he yelled at Bee, looking at the words that were appearing on his arm. "Not my fault, he took… he accused… trying to steal… you broke… then he said… from him… Mr. Cyborg… you making any sense of this, Bee?"

"Nope," replied the leader of the Titans East, spreading her arms even further to keep them apart.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance?" enquired Starfire, beaming at her friends. Más and Menos immediately stopped ranting, turning towards her eagerly.

"I think you just did, Star," said Cyborg in relief.

" _Behave_ ," ordered Bumblebee firmly, before setting them down on the ground reluctantly, since her arms were hurting.

The twins were off in a flash, probably discussing their next plan to win the alien princess away from her dark haired suitor- Robin, who was currently trying to quiet the Titans.

Jinx looked up from scolding Kid Flash. She spotted Robin yelling for silence, but no one was listening, probably because of the fight that had been going on just a few minutes before. She looked back at Kid Flash, (who now had assumed an expression that was appropriate for a puppy who had been kicked) and sighed. She raised an eyebrow, as if asking if he was sorry, and he eagerly nodded. She covered her face with a hand for a second, then lowered it. Glancing back at Robin, she felt a small stab of sympathy- she knew what it was like to try to gain the attention of a team, only to not have them listen.

" _QUIET!"_  Jinx yelled. Silence fell.

"Thank you Jinx," Robin said, relieved.

"No problem," she said, sitting down next to her boyfriend.

And thus the meeting began.

* * *

Raven flew low and high, over the city of Azarath. People moved beneath her in their usual, solemn pace, their white robes easy to spot, despite the dark that was settling in.

She found herself drawn to a tall tower with a ledge that birds often perched on. She landed there, her cloak billowing out as she continued to observe the city of her birth.

Suddenly, a dark creature appeared, materializing out of the shadows. It released some sort of primitive scream, one that sent shivers up a spine, and made a person want to flee. Which is what the people of Azarath did. They ran in all directions, scattering to the winds. A few ran to the Grand Temple, probably in an attempt to warn Azar. Not a single person in this pacifistic realm grabbed a weapon, or even attempted to fight the monster. Raven herself itched to go and battle the creature, but found that she couldn't move. Instead, she could only watch as the creature smashed through a large building, starting a fire. Her eyes took in the raging flames that seemed to grow larger every second. Not caring if something was flammable or not, the fire consumed everything in its path, from buildings to streets to  _people_. Her eyes took it all in; the destruction of her home.

Azar was nowhere to be seen, and neither were many of the monks of Azarath. She couldn't help but wonder where they were. With a loud roar, the flames reached the Grand Temple, and attempted to begin the process of burning down the tall walls, only to be repelled by the defenses.

"That won't last long," said a voice from beside her. Raven moved her head, spotting Arella standing beside her, where she could have sworn there had been no one seconds ago.

"Why not?" she asked, instead of the dozens of other questions that were inside her head.

"The Nightmare Child might not be able to penetrate those spells, but its mistress can," replied Arella, turning to face her daughter. Despite a few years having passed since they had last seen each other, she didn't look older. If anything, she appeared to be younger.

"The Nightmare Child?"

"The creature that started the fire. What you're seeing is how Azarath fell a second time. You're spell brought us back, Raven, but that creature destroyed it again. It happened much more slowly, though," answered her mother softly.

"How could this happen?" Raven demanded, her head turning quickly as she heard screams begin from within the Temple. The gates swung open, and the fire poured in, beginning the process of destroying the last place in Azarath.

"I don't know," Arella replied. "They struck without warning, out of nowhere. We don't know what they are, or where they came from."

"But you knew one of their names," pointed out Raven, "you must know something!"

"Very little. The Nightmare Child lives off fear, Raven. It feeds off it, controls it, manipulates it… it  _is_  fear. And its mistress… well, all we really know is that she appears to be incredibly skilled at turning people against each other. There were supposed to be guards there, where the fire began from. But they were arguing, not paying attention to their duty, and…" her mother then gestured towards the flames, which were just finishing consuming the temple.

"How did those gates open?" Raven said, eying her mother.

"We don't know. Azar thought that perhaps there was a traitor within the guards. I'm not so sure."

"Where is Azar?" Raven asked, scared despite herself.

"Dead. Everybody died, Raven. Including me."

"But how…"

"Azar sent me back. To warn you, and to give you this," Arella removed a small gold ring from her finger, handing it to her daughter. Raven recognized it as one of the many rings that Azar wore on a regular basis. She traced the engraved symbols in it.

"Why?" she asked, slipping it on her own finger.

"She said it would help you defeat them. I'm not sure what she meant by that, though."

"But why will I need to defeat them? Aren't they still here?"

"No Raven. They left not ten minutes after the destruction of our home. They're coming Raven. They're coming to Earth. And you must be careful."

"Telling stories, are we Arella?" hissed a voice on the other side of Raven. Raven spun. Standing on her right was a creature that looked vaguely like Trigon one moment, Raven herself in a bright red cloak the next, and kept on changing.

"Nightmare Child," Arella replied softly. "Still here?"

"No, so close to  _her_  that I can catch a dream. It's not that hard," sneered the Nightmare Child.

"Leave." Raven's mother said, glaring at the creature.

"With your permission!" yelled the creature, leaping at Raven.

"RAVEN!" yelled Arella as she disappeared.

Raven woke up in a cold sweat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **  
> A/N: Yes, my villain(s) are OC's. Sorry, but no one else just quite fit. Hope that won't stop you from reviewing! I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can!**
> 
> **Flames will be read, laughed at, and then mocked in the next chapter.**
> 
> **Hinn-Raven**


	3. It's All About Romance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Don't you love having to scrap a chapter that was written way back in FEBUARY! I sure don't… so sorry about that. On a slightly happier note, however, my school is starting soon, which means that I might not be updating quite as often (or on the flipside, much more often; I always am more inspired during the school year…).**
> 
> **Anyways, thanks to everyone who's read so far!**
> 
> **Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. If I did, would I be up at 7 AM, writing this story?**

After the meeting, Jinx sat on the roof, her arms wrapped around her knees, deep in thought. Her eyes stared into the distance, looking over the city that she had once lived in.

"Hey!" Kid Flash said, appearing at her side.

She turned to face him, "Hey."

"So, what'd you think of Raven's dream?" the speedster asked, looking at his girlfriend's face.

"I don't know," Jinx admitted, turning away from him to stare in the distance, "I've never heard of such a thing as the 'Nightmare Child.' And I've been reading up on creatures like that for years."

"That bothers you, doesn't it?" he asked, taking her hand.

"A little," she admitted. "I'm just hoping that it really was just a dream, and nothing big is coming after us."

"I think we're all hoping that, Jinx-y," said Kid Flash with a cocky grin.

Jinx sighed. "Don't call me that…"

"Sorry."

Kid Flash opened his mouth as if to add something to his apology. Then he froze, as if he had just realized something. "'scuse me," he said quickly, dashing off. Jinx raised a hand to fix her hair, which had been disturbed by the leaving-breeze.

Jinx rubbed her temples. What Raven had said at the meeting truly worried her. That creature she described was like nothing she had ever read about, in any mythology of any country. So  _where_  had it come from?

A few minutes later, another gust of wind arrived, interrupting her thoughts. Kid Flash plopped down beside her with a cocky grin. "I'm back!"

"I noticed," Jinx said flatly, a smile on her face.

"Found you something," sang the fastest boy alive, holding up a single, red rose.

She smiled at him, and let go of her legs, letting them dangle over the edge. She then took the flower from him, raised it to her face, and inhaled.

"Where'd you get it?" she said, placing the rose across her lap.

"Got it off Beast Boy, he had a whole dozen," said Kid Flash, grinning as he scooted closer and draped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her close. She sighed contently, and leaned her head onto his shoulder.

"Now why would he do that?"

"Sorry, he swore me to secrecy," he replied, laughing to himself. "But I can tell you this-"

" _JINX!_  Come on girl, we're waiting for you!" Argent's voice interrupted.

"Why?" demanded Jinx crossly, her good mood evaporating.

"'Cause all the girls are meeting in Star's room, even Raven! You're the last one, so stop snuggling Kid, and get over 'ere!"

"Fine," Jinx grumbled, untangling herself from Kid Flash's arm, "But you don't see me interrupting you and Hot Spot!"

"We are  _not_  together," Argent said flatly as the two girls started to walk away.

"Keep telling yourself that," Jinx said, smirking.

"Na, that's what he's telling 'imself," replied the New Zealander.

* * *

Jericho sat cross-legged on the bed in the room he was staying in during his visit to Titans' Tower, doing what he did best; that was, playing his guitar.

The blond boy barely glanced at the sheet music stretched out in front of him, only peeping at it to check a chord every now and then.

"Hey, Jericho! That's really good," a girl's voice said, making Jericho jump, scattering his entire collection of music in every direction.

"Oops! Sorry about that," said Kole, pushing her antennae out of her eye as she knelt to help him recover the music.

" _It's all right,"_  Jericho signed as he gathered one of his first songs up, depositing it on the bed.

"I just heard you playing, and I came to listen," said the pink haired girl, grabbing another handful of papers and placing them in a messy pile beside the ones he had gathered.

" _Thanks,"_  the mute signed, before going flat on his stomach to reach into the darkness under the bed, where he had noticed at least three pieces going.

"I haven't heard you play in ages," she said, grabbing the last of the ones that hadn't been under the bed, "Not since the Brotherhood of Evil thing."

Jericho nodded in agreement. He'd seen Kole once or twice since, but on those occasions, he hadn't dragged out his guitar. His fingers closed around the music, and withdrew them from their resting place.

"Did you write that?" Kole asked, hovering in a slightly awkward way as he sorted through the music. He nodded once.

"It's really good," she said simply.

" _Thanks,"_  Jericho signed, feeling a strong urge to add something else to that statement, but coming up with nothing.

She paused, as if waiting for him to say, well, sign something. "See you around, I guess," she muttered, looking away. She slowly dragged her feet out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Jericho felt a  _bit_  relieved. Of all times she had come in, it had been while he'd been working on his love song. How embarrassing.

* * *

Starfire stood in the garage, beside Robin's motorcycle. Her hands were clasped in front of her, her hair had been brushed so often that her scalp hurt a little, and her eyes were wide and sparkling. All that was needed to complete this picture was her boyfriend. Who just happened to be taking a while. (Well, for her. She'd been ten minutes early.)

The garage door swung open, and Starfire glanced eagerly in that direction, hoping to see Robin, ready for their date. Instead she saw Cyborg and Bumblebee, deep in conversation, and carrying a variety of tools. She sighed to herself.

"Hi Star," Robin's voice said from behind her. She yelped, leapt several feet into the air, and spun around.

"Sorry," said the Boy Wonder, smiling sheepishly. "Well, are you ready?"

"Yes!" exclaimed Starfire with a large smile.

Robin grinned back, and mounted his R-Cycle. After putting on his helmet, he gestured for Starfire to join him. Starfire eagerly did so, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Hold on!" he shouted unnecessarily, starting his motorcycle. And they were off.

Starfire laughed to herself as they rushed towards their destination. She understood why humans had created such a machine; if they could not enjoy true flight, they might as well be able to enjoy this, which was close enough.

Ten minutes later, they pulled up in a parking lot. Robin slid into a space neatly and threw the kickstand down. He pulled off his helmet, got off the bike, and then helped Starfire off.

Starfire's grin expanded as she saw that they were at the fair, the place where they had been before Blackfire's arrival.

"Where do you want to go first?" asked her boyfriend with a grin.

"I do not know!" squealed Starfire happily, "Anywhere!"

Robin looked pleased that she was already enjoying herself. "The come on, Star!" he linked hands with her and led her off towards the fairground.

Their first stop was the rollercoaster. After they had exited that, Starfire eagerly led them to the haunted house. When they finally left that one, (Robin a little short on breath because she had gripped him a bit hard toward the end), she begged and pleaded with Robin until he agreed to go on a water rollercoaster. When the couple emerged, soaking wet, Robin suggested that they grab a bite to eat. Starfire was only too happy to agree more.

"Hey Star, can you wait here? I'll get us some food," Robin suggested, smiling. Happily the Tameranean sat down, wringing out her hair.

Not even five minutes later, Robin showed up, laden with fatty, greasy, delicious Fair Food. He set the variety of things on the table, and Starfire took them all in eagerly.

"What is this?" Starfire asked, picking up what appeared to be oddly shaped lumps of cheese.

"They're called cheese curds, Starfire," Robin said, taking another from the cardboard container and putting it in his own mouth. "They're really good," he added, with the curd in one cheek.

Starfire stifled a giggle, and then nibbled on the curd of cheese that she had picked up earlier. "Mmm..." she moaned, enjoying the taste of the warm cheese.

Between the two of them, the cheese curds were history very quickly. Starfire then turned her attention to what appeared to be squiggles covered in white powder. "And what is this, Robin?"

"It's called an elephant's ear," he replied, picking up a fork. She squeaked. "But not really, Star. It's just a pastry."

Starfire took the fork from him and managed to get a piece off. She placed it in her mouth cautiously, still partly expecting for it to be the ear of an actual elephant. She chewed slowly, and then grinned.

Once again, the couple made quick work of the food. "Oh look, the nuts of dough!" she exclaimed, peeking in a small paper bag.

"A dozen." Robin replied, taking one.

After they had finished the donuts, the couple left to head their way to the Ferris wheel, where they had gone all those years ago.

As they got into their carriage, and took off, leaving the attendant far behind, Robin began to talk.

"Star, well, there's something that I've been meaning to tell you…" Robin began, pulling at his collar. "For a while now actually."

"What is it, Robin?" inquired the princess, smiling. Hopes began to push themselves to the surface, each whispering a possibility of what he was going to say.

"Well you see… the thing is… what I'm trying to say is that… I, I…" the carriage swung to a halt at the very top, exactly where they had been years back when he had tried to get her to eat cotton candy and watch the fireworks, while she had been concerned about fitting in, here on Earth. He swallowed nervously, cutting off the flashback. Why was this so hard? It looked so easy in the movies and on TV. "I l-" here he was cut off by Starfire's eager embrace.

"I feel exactly the same," she proclaimed, absolutely  _beaming_ , before kissing him.

The couple left at sunset, heading off back to their Tower, where their friends awaited them.

"How touching," sighed the girl, lowering her newspaper to watch the two teenagers drive off.

"They act unconcerned. Perhaps they do not believe we are coming?" said the Nightmare Child from beside the brunette.

"No. They are teens. They are concerned, just not  _that_  concerned."

"They will be soon," stated the fear creature with a smile.

"Oh yes." She agreed. "Very soon."

* * *

Beast Boy stood outside the door to Raven's room, feeling his self-confidence drain away slowly. Cyborg's words earlier had had a slight effect on him, and the growing dimness in the hallway was adding to the creepy look of the scene.

"Okay, is there anything else I need?" he asked himself, pulling the flowers out in front of him.

"How about Life Insurance?" Kid Flash asked, popping up behind him.

"AH!" Beast Boy yelled, nearly transforming before he realized who it was.

"Take it easy, it's just me!" pointed out the speedster.

"What do you mean life insurance?" the green boy demanded, trying to hide his bouquet behind his back.

"Because, if you ask Raven out, she'll probably blow you into another dimension, or something like that." Advised Kid Flash, grinning.

"Will not!" retorted the changeling, a bit childishly.

"Oh yeah? Man, you two would not mix. At least not well. Maybe explosively," he added, peeling a banana that he had stole from Speedy.

"Says who?"

"Pretty much everyone. But hey, if you think you're doing the smart thing, go for it. Most people probably would've said the same thing about me and Jinx."

"Especially since she was a bad-guy at the time," noted Beast Boy.

"Exactly. And speaking of Jinx, she's been on her own on the roof for a little while now, so I just need to borrow one of these," he said, snatching one of the roses from Beast Boy, "And good luck, man!" He disappeared, off to go and find Jinx.

Beast Boy grinned, and went back to getting ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: And there you have it. I'll try to get cracking at the next chapter sometime soon, but I might try to update one of my other stories, which I have seriously abandoned for the last… well, it's been awhile.**
> 
> **Anyways, please review!**
> 
> **Hinn-Raven**


	4. Secret Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Okay, I know I've been gone a while, but I've been busy. So here you go! Chapter 3!**

"So, what's this meeting about?" Jinx asked Argent grumpily.

"No clue. Starfire wouldn't tell me," admitted Argent, much to Jinx's dissatisfaction. "But don't worry!" the silver-skinned girl assured her pink haired friend, "Judging from her expression, it's going to be worth it!"

Jinx sighed dramatically as she rushed to keep up with her excited friend's pace.

The two girls were joined by Kole as they walked towards the Tameranean princess's room. Kole chatted cheerfully with Argent, and joined her in teasing Jinx about the rose that the former villainess still carried.

The trio stopped their cheerful teasing as they reached Starfire's tidy room. Bumblebee had made herself at home on one of Starfire's beanbags, a cross between boredom and expectation on her face. Star sat cross-legged on her bed, eyes bright as she tore through the kind of celebrity tabloids that Raven would love to burn. Speaking of which, Jinx knew something really good must have happened, because Raven was perched on the edge of Starfire's bed, hood down, and a smile on her face; admittedly a small smile, but a smile nonetheless. Melvin had somehow ended up on top of the dresser, wearing a large amount of stolen makeup, petting Silkie, and chattering loudly.

Jinx rolled her eyes and flopped down in another beanbag, this one looking slightly out of place in the brightness of the room, since it was black. Argent claimed the other one, while Kole cheerfully claimed another purpley -pink one.

"Is everyone here?" Bee asked.

"I do not believe so," Starfire said, glancing up from her magazine, "Where is Pantha?"

"She threw me out of her room when I told her about this, so I think it's safe to say she's not coming," Argent said, looking around.

"So, what's this about?" Kole asked, pulling herself up, an eager expression on her face.

"Oh!" Starfire exclaimed joyfully, "Raven has the most glorious news!" she hugged Raven, her smile larger than usual.

"What happened?" chorused Bumblebee and Argent, both looking a bit surprised that it was  _Raven_  who had the 'most glorious news' instead of a more likely candidate, like Starfire.

"Oh, it is most wonderful!" Starfire gushed happily, "You see, Beast Boy has asked Raven do perform 'the dating' with him!"

"Are you serious?" asked Bee, looking surprised.

"Nice! Wondered when he'd get around to it," said Jinx, settling back even further in her arm chair. She paused thoughtfully. "So  _that's_  what Kid was talking about…"

"How did KF know about this?" said Kole, who'd gotten up to retrieve something from the small pile of stacks that had been placed on a table nearby.

"He talked to Beast Boy," said Raven, who'd made her way out of Starfire's hug. "Gave him some advice."

"I should  _so_  talk to him," grumbled Jinx. "Trust me Raven, you don't want Beast Boy taking advice from my boyfriend."

"I know," Raven said knowledgably.

"So…" said Argent, sitting up with a smile, "Any other news?"

The rest of the girls looked at each other with grins. "Well…" Kole began, blushing a little.

* * *

Kid Flash felt boredom sneak up on him. That was rare. Whenever it usually happened, he usually went to bug Jinx or circle the globe. But as it was, Jinx was in Starfire's room, where it would be death to his poor, non-gossip loving ears, and Robin had forbidden him (and Más and Menos) to go on cross-continent runs, or cross-country runs, or even cross-street runs. Robin's exact words were, "Pretty much, if you leave this  _island_  without my permission, tomorrow's training practice will be to see who can cause the most damage to whoever disobeys me and leaves." As much fun as it sounded, Kid Flash didn't want to risk his skin.

He sighed. He'd heard that Cyborg had started a large video-game tournament downstairs. Maybe he could join them.

He turned the corner, only going about a quarter as fast as he was allowed to run indoors, and collided with Hot Spot.

"AH!" he yelled, jerking backwards. He checked to see if anything was on fire, (it wasn't) and then made sure that Hot Spot hadn't been injured.

"Watch where you're going!" exclaimed the pyrokenetic from his position on the floor.

The speedster merely shrugged, "What's the matter, Spotty? Bored without Argent?"

"She's not my girlfriend," was the automatic reply.

"Really? After Christmas-"

"Blame the mistletoe. It was exaggerated anyway," said Hot Spot, his temperature rising a few degrees.

"Her birthday…"

"I only gave her a  _present_  for the love of all things holy!"

"Valentine's Day…"

"I gave a valentine to  _every_  Titans girl that doesn't have a boyfriend!"

"Hey, I  _saw_  those chocolates."

"I…I…" Hot Spot floundered for a moment, trying to come up with an excuse, "I needed to apologize?"

"Work on your excuses, Spotty," advised the fastest boy alive, "oh, and then there was Halloween…"

"That was a dare!"

"4th of July…"

"Herald completely made that one up," Hot Spot growled, realizing he was losing ground fast.

"That seems pretty out of character," noted Kid Flash.

"Well, it  _never_  happened," was the response.

He shook his head, "And after all that, you're  _still_  not together? Man, one of you is thick, and I don't think it's Argent!"

Hot Spot through his hands up in the air after that, "I give up!"

"Thank you. But seriously, you better hurry up, Spotty, before you become the only bachelor in the Tower.  _Beast Boy_  just beat you to it, for the love of Pete! And he asked  _Raven_. And you can't even ask Argent? I mean-"

"Wait, what? Say that again," the pyro said, eyes wide.

"Oh, Beast Boy asked Raven out." The red-head said quickly, enjoying the expression on Hot Spot's face.

"I can't believe it."

"That he asked her out, that she said yes, or that  _he_ got the courage to ask  _Raven_  out before you got the courage to ask Argent out? Which, I might add, you are far less likely to get injured in doing that what BB did," Kid Flash rattled off.

"All of the above," the hot-tempered teen said. Suddenly something very suspicious occurred to him. "Hey… why are you so interested in this?

Kid Flash had a sudden guilty look go across his face, and he suddenly developed a cough. "Um… I  _might_  have a fifty dollar bet with Speedy on the subject…"

"YOU WHAT?" yelled Hot Spot, his voice echoing down to the Ops. Center, causing the video-game match that was currently going on to pause.

"Who  _was_  that?" wondered Speedy, quickly refocusing on the screen in order to attempt to destroy Cyborg's car, which was taking the lead.

"It sounded like Hot Spot," Aqualad replied, quickly swerving out of Beast Boy's shot, allowing him to hit Más and Menos instead.

"Nooo!" yelled the twins.

"I wonder what he's so mad about," Bushido mused, watching the game unfolding before him without much interest.

"Who knows?" Beast Boy declared, letting out a whoop of joy as he managed to blow Speedy up.

Jericho shrugged, looking slightly uncomfortable after being dragged down here by Speedy, who'd declared that he needed to join the rest of them, him and Robin both.

The leader of the Titans appeared to be fuming, having been unceremoniously dragged out of bed by Aqualad and Speedy, his hair a mess, and a scowl on his face. He sat stubbornly on the couch with his arms tightly crossed; pointedly ignoring the controller that Cyborg had shoved at him, that now lay on his lap untouched. His car, which still moved without him, just not that quickly, had been destroyed fifteen times and counting.

Kid flash zoomed in, taking refuge behind the couch, squeaking "Hide me!"

"What did you do?" Cyborg asked without removing his eyes from the screen.

"Spotty found out about my bet with Speedy," explained the young speedster, peeking over the couch to look for the fire-wielding teen.

At that moment, a very angry Hot Spot stormed in.

"Where is he?" he demanded, looking ready to broil the fastest boy alive.

"He's over there," everyone said (except for Jericho), pointing towards his hiding spot (including Jericho.)

"Hey!" the young Flash protested, dodging a fireball. "It was just a bet!" he zoomed out of the way of another one. "Apparently you don't care! Robin, permission to run for my life!"

Robin sighed. "I'm going to regret this, aren't I?"

"Without a doubt," Speedy confirmed, still not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Permission granted," he said absently, and Kid Flash was gone in… well… a flash, leaving behind a cursing Hot Spot.

Robin pulled out his communicator and called up Kid Flash. "Be back in thirty minutes, or I'm sending M and M after you." He threatened, and then hung up. Forgetting that he was supposed to be sulking, the Boy Wonder picked up his controller and shot Speedy.

"Hey!" Speedy protested, as Hot Spot grumbled, sitting on the couch next to Robin.

"Where was he?"

"Vegas or New York. I saw the Statue of Liberty."

"Great…" grumbled Hot Spot, resigned.

* * *

"How cute…" said one of the figures, sitting in a swivel chair, watching the story of the Titans unfold on the screens before her.

"They are not afraid," said the Nightmare Child, disgruntled.

"Of course they're not. They don't know that we're even here," pointed out the brunette to her friend, pointing to the screens that showed the security images. It was beyond the Nightmare Child how her ally had been able to hack into those.

"When will we show them?" said the creature, eager.

"Soon," was the reply.

"Tomorrow," said Nightmare in a stubborn voice.

"Fine. Tomorrow. Choose your victim," she said, indicating at the images.

The Nightmare Child leaned forward, examining them all. "That one," it said, jabbing its finger at one of the Titans.

"That should do nicely." Said the brunette, making a note on a pad of paper beside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Hee, hee... I have way to much fun doing this. Review please! More reviews mean faster updates!**
> 
> **Hinn-Raven**


	5. The First Strike

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: So, here's the update! Sorry it's been so long, but NaNoWriMo took up a long time, and then I had a few other things I needed to finish up. Not exactly happy holiday type thing, but I might do something like that tomorrow. This is a darker chapter, (or at least, that's what I was aiming for...) and less happy romance fluff. But I was aiming to give this a plot, so that's only to be expected. Be warned, however, you probably should have a little knowledge of Jericho's past before reading, since he takes up a good bit of the story. Read and Review (please)!**
> 
> **I don't own the Teen Titans. I will soon, however, own several of the presents that are waiting for me under the tree.**

Jericho sat cross legged in a field, playing his guitar. "That sounds wonderful, Joseph," said his mother with a proud smile, wrapping her arms around him.

"Thanks Mom," he said with a smile.

"Mama's boy!" teased Grant, while lying on his back, completely relaxed and happy.

"Shut up, Grant," laughed Jericho/Joseph.

"So where's Kole?" said Adeline Wilson in a teasing tone of voice. "You said that we'd finally get to meet this fine young woman that you've been talking about for so long."

"I'm right here!" laughed the pink-haired girl, walking up to the Wilson Family. Jericho was shocked. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, a far cry from her usual super-hero getup. He found that he sort of missed it.

" _You're_  Kole?" asked Grant, sounding shocked. "No way!" he threw a teasing look at Jericho. "Our Joseph couldn't have snagged someone like you!"

Kole blushed and sat down next to Jericho and his mother. "Apparently he did," she said, beaming at Jericho.

"Hey Kole," he said, smiling at his girlfriend with the largest smile he could manage.

"Hey," she replied, looking right at him with those huge blue eyes of hers. She leaned in close and pressed her lips against his.

"How cute," hissed a voice that reminded Jericho vaguely of that sound they always used in movies-nails on a chalkboard, wasn't it? He turned around, and he stared.

Before him stood a strange figure constantly shifting, going from one terrifying form to another. The only thing that remained constant were a pair of glowing white eyes that seemed to pierce his mind, reading his every thought. He heard screams, and he saw his mother, his brother, even Kole looking terrified and turning into dust.

"No!" he tried to scream, leaping to his feet, hoping to save them. His hands went to his throat. No sound came out. His voice was gone. He felt something warm and sticky on his hands so he lowered them, trembling. His own blood. He was bleeding again…

"So, Deathstroke?" asked a new, but terrifyingly familiar voice, the one that was holding him. A cold blade was pressed against his throat, and he felt the blood already trickling down his throat. Any harder and he'd probably die.

"The answer is no, Jackal," said the voice of his father, only it wasn't. It was colder, more aloof. There wasn't the familiar joking tone, or even the tone he used when he was furious. This was a new way of speaking for his father.

"He will die," said the man, tightening his grip on Joseph.

"Slade!" yelled his mother, looking desperately at him. "Slade, you can't! Just tell them already!"

His father didn't reply. In the darkness, Joseph could make out his dad's face, cold and composed, not a sign of compassion or caring on his face.  _He's really going to do it,_  he realized.  _He's going to let me die…_

Suddenly, there was a blur. His father was moving, a flash. A sword was striking repeatedly, hacking down anyone who stood in his father's way. "Dad!" he screamed, just as the knife dug deeper, cutting off the last words he would ever say. The darkness swallowed him… and then it went white.

"Slade Wilson?" said the figure that had sent him into that memory, that nightmare. "He's Deathstroke?" it sounded amused. "Well  _that_  explains where he's been for the last few years…" The creature loomed over him. "And he didn't care that you would  _die_ ," it observed. "That thought terrified you, didn't it?"

 _What are you?_  Jericho thought angrily, trying to speak. He  _was_  dreaming, so he should be able to.

"I am the Nightmare Child," was the reply. It could read his thoughts, Jericho realized. "I believe your friend Raven warned you about me. I read your fears, and I make them real. And  _you_  Joseph Wilson are so afraid…" it cocked its head, as if a thought had just occurred to it. "I wonder… what would the Titans say? If they knew who you were… if they realized… wouldn't that be interesting?"

 _What do you want?_  He demanded silently.

"I am so hungry… it has been so long," whispered the Nightmare Child, staring at him with those horrible eyes. "She has promised me a feast, a feast on your fear. And you fear so many things…" it trailed off.

Jericho realized something.  _I'm looking right at it! Idiot!_  His eyes glowed, and he entered the Nightmare Child.

_Everything was burning, everything was dark. People chanting, people screaming, pain, so much pain… burning symbols behind the eyes, those terrible red eyes, the fear of everyone, too much, too much, can't stop…_

Jericho screamed in the Nightmare Child's voice, and was expelled. He clutched his head, feeling the worst headache of his life come crashing down on him. No one had ever been able to do that… once he was in, nothing could stop him…

"Idiot," laughed the fear creature. "You cannot control me." It knelt beside him. "I am as old as this world. And now I have stirred. Nothing can stop us now."

 _What was that?_ He demanded silently.

"Nothing you need to know," was the reply. "You won't even remember this. You'll wake up, and it will all just be a bad dream." It laughed again, the horrible sound filling his ears.

He woke up, screaming silently. He didn't notice the strange, shadow like creature slipping under his door.

* * *

"Deathstroke?" asked the girl in shock, looking at the Nightmare Child a few minutes later.

"That is what I said," said the creature.

A huge grin traveled up her face. "Well that's  _wonderful!_  That's just  _perfect!_ "

"Perfect?"

"We'll set them against each other! They'll tear each other apart, all because of one little secret! Teenagers  _are_  teenagers, after all," she laughed as she sat down on the bed of the former Titan Terra.

"Wonderful. Shall we attack now?" asked the creature impatiently, showing its many rows of sharp teeth.

"Not Jericho, not yet," the brunette sat down. "He's the key to this."

"Then  _who_?" demanded Nightmare Child. "Starfire? Bumblebee? Kole? Hot Spot? Speedy?"

"Starfire would be too difficult to contain… as would Bumblebee… in order to keep Kole in place, we'd need a large amount of…electricity." A huge grin spread across her face. "How about Kilowatt?" she asked pleasantly.

The Nightmare Child nodded eagerly, to happy to have a target to care who it was. One of the reasons that the creature made such a wonderful ally.

"And what do you know?" laughed the creature. "He's awake."

* * *

Kilowatt stumbled along the corridors, grumbling to himself. He always had problems sleeping, especially when a jolt of electricity was just as effective as eight hours of sleep for him. And after absorbing a lightning strike from Lightning during combat practice that afternoon…or was it yesterday already?

Something caught his eye. He spun around, just in time to see a trace of long brown hair turn the corner.

"Hey!" he called, going after them. He tried to think of what Titan had brown hair.

He skidded past the corner, and looked, expecting to see whoever it was. But no one was there.

He squinted into the darkness. "Maybe I should get some coffee or something," he muttered, realizing that he was alone.

He completed his walk down to the Ops. Center, and located the coffee maker, still full of some lukewarm brew that someone had made earlier. He pored himself a cup and placed it in the microwave. If there was one thing he couldn't stand it was cold coffee.

He listened to the buzz of the coffee heating until it let out a loud, obnoxious beep telling him that it was ready to be drunk. He eagerly pulled open the door and grabbed the mug, pulling back quickly after discovering that the ceramic cup was still very hot. Grumbling to himself, he forced himself to wait until the cup was a reasonable temperature before taking it out.

He made his way back to his room, sipping the coffee as he went. He was still a floor away when he heard the sound of racing feet.

"Is anybody there?" Kilowatt called, looking around. There wasn't an answer.

He muttered something about too-large towers before continuing on. He heard something break behind him.

"Okay, this isn't funny!" he called, setting his coffee down. He didn't know where the switch was so he grabbed the wall, finding the wires within the walls and made them send electricity to the lights. Light filled the hallway, revealing… nobody.

He looked around, still spooked. "Raven's stories are making me paranoid," he said to himself. He bent down for his coffee, only to spot someone turning the corner again. "Aha!" he said, louder than he meant to. He sprung up, knocking his coffee to the floor, causing it to spill all over the carpet, and gave chase.

"Got you!" he yelled, only to discover no one was there again. "Huh?"

"You really should pay more attention," said a voice from behind him. He leapt into the air and prepared for a fight. He blinked when he saw that the person behind him was a girl. "Whoa, easy there!" she said, backing up. "I'm not going to attack!"

"Who are you?" he said warily, lowering his hands.

"Names Changer. Welcome to the Tower," she said warmly, holding out a hand for him to shake.

"Kilowatt," he said cautiously, shaking her hand. "I haven't seen you before."

"No, I keep to myself mostly. I saw you though, at the meeting. I suppose you didn't notice me. No one ever seems to."

"You're a Titan?" he asked, although the answer seemed obvious.

"Yep!" she said, holding up a communicator.

"Oh." He relaxed. "So, what are you doing up so late?"

"Distracting you," she said with a smile.

"What?" he said, spinning around. Behind him was a… creature. A strange figure that seemed to reach into his mind and pick out the worst fears, the worst memories and the worst nightmares out of it, and look like them.

"You Titans are really stupid," commented Changer from behind him. "I swiped your communicator off you and you don't even notice. How you've made it this far is incredible."

He opened his mouth to call for help and raised his arms to fight, but found he couldn't. He was literally paralyzed by the fear that the creature was emitting. Which must mean that this was the Nightmare Child creature that Raven had been talking about. Which meant that they were all in very real danger.

"Kilowatt?" a voice yelled. Kilowatt struggled to yell out, to warn whoever was coming, but found he couldn't. "I heard you yell…" the Herald turned a corner, and saw the three figures before him. The horn was out in an instant, and Changer attacked. She tackled him, sending him to the floor, and causing him to lose his grip on his horn, sending it flying though the air away from him. The Herald tried to yell for help, but Changer had her hands wrapped around his throat, cutting off his air.

"Nightmare?" She called. "Take care of them please."

 _What did that mean_? Kilowatt wondered wildly before he felt the fear attacking his mind. His heart started racing and terrifying thoughts started flashing through his mind. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't even think. All that mattered was getting away from the fear. His mind took the easy option out. He fainted.

 

* * *

"So, why were you so mad at Kid Flash?" asked Argent, smiling at Hot Spot.

 

"He was, well, he was making fun of me," Hot Spot said lamely, not quite looking at her.

"And you nearly fried him for that?" she said in disbelief.

"Well, it was a sensitive subject," he said, quickly poring maple-syrup over the pancakes Cyborg had made for him to cover his embarrassment.

"Oh?" now she was very curious. "Explain."

"Well… us."

"What about 'us'?" she asked, sipping from a glass of orange juice.

"He was teasing me about us being together," he muttered, staring at his food.

Suddenly, the air felt hostile. "And what was wrong with that?" she said coldly.

"Well, we're not." He said, still not looking at her.

"Oh? That's news to me," she said, her voice dropping a few temperatures.

"But, we're not!" he protested. Big mistake.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't aware that going on dates and exchanging the occasional kiss meant we were together. My mistake,"

"Argent… I didn't mean it like that," he began.

"So how  _do_  you mean it? Are you afraid of committing? Of being in an actual relationship? Or are you just ashamed that you'd date someone like me?" the friendly attitude from earlier was gone.

"No! Of course not!"

"Then what is it?" she said, glaring at him.

"It's just that… you see, I…"

"Well, I guess  _that_  answers it," she said in a huff, standing up.

"Argent, wait! I was stupid okay?" he yelled, grabbing her. "I'm sorry. I should've just told KF that we were together. And I shouldn't have tried to excuse losing my temper. I'm really sorry Argent!"

She looked at him suspiciously. "Alright then," she said, removing his hands from her shoulders. "I'll be going then." She left quickly. Hot Spot walked away, looking like a kicked puppy, in the opposite direction.

"You think they'll be okay?" Bee asked Cyborg.

"Yeah, they'll be fine. They need a healthy fight every now and then," offered her boyfriend, handing her a stack of pancakes. "Look at us!" They grinned at each other.

"Yeah," she said, smiling back. "So, presuming that the world doesn't end by noon, you want to go into Jump and get a pizza or something?"

"Sounds great, Bee!" he said, grabbing Hot Spot's rejected pancakes and grabbing a fork.

"So, by the way, I was wondering if you could get around to taking a look at the security grid for the Titans East Tower, you see we've been having some problems with-" Bumblebee was saying as the alarm went off.

"That's just great," grumbled Cyborg, shoving his pancakes to the side. Robin rushed in with a grim expression.

"Titans! Trouble!" yelled their leader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: So... yeah. Please review and all that jazz.**
> 
> **Happy Holidays from Hinn-Raven**


	6. The Stage Is Set

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Um... yeah, I really don't have an excuse. REally sorry about that. So anyway, the plot continues. Here you go!**
> 
> **I do not own.**

The HIVE Five stared at the numerous Titans gathered before them. So the rumors were true. Gizmo was being cranky, Mammoth was… well, uncaring, Billy Numerous was cocky as ever, Kid Wykydd was blasé, and Seemore was just happy that Jinx wasn't there (although Kid Speed or whatever-his-name was,) and maybe a little bit scared. He wondered whether or not this would be worth the payoff. But either way, he wasn't going to back down.

"HIVE Five—" he paused, trying to remember one of Jinx's numerous battle cries.

"Eat 'em alive," suggested a familiar, feminine voice.

"Thanks Jinx!" he said, turning to the voice with a grin. The grin faltered. "Jinx—"

She flashed her evilest smile, which was sadly familiar to the Cyclops, and released her wicked left hook, which hit the dial on Seemore's helmet. Pink electricity crackled all over his eye, causing it to go haywire. She had done this numerous times previously in practice, and both she and Seemore knew that it would not work for several hours now.

Chaos quickly fell. Pantha and Red Star pummeled Mammoth in to the concrete side by side, as Thunder and Lightning chased Gizmo around the sky, while Kole and Gnarkk went after Billy Numerous for revenge with the help of Jericho. Kid Flash, Raven and Beast Boy pursued Kid Wykydd around the area, whereas Robin and Speedy helped Starfire arrest Seemore.

Jinx leaned against the wall, smiling. The HIVE had always been a pushover, but without her they were absolutely hopeless. Her eyes followed Kid Flash when she could as he prevented Kid Wykydd from escaping again and again, but when she couldn't see him, she enjoyed watching Kole knock down numerous Billys at once or Thunder and Lightning laughing and throwing bright bolts of energy at Gizmo as they chased him around the sky.

"They were your friends, weren't they?" rasped a voice in her ear.

"What's it to you—" started Jinx before freezing. Terrifying, constantly morphing, eyes that were blindingly white… this was the Nightmare Child without a doubt. " _Kid Flash!"_  she yelled, as she raised her hands in order to fire her luck energy. Her hands crackled and she shouted once again as she attacked the creature.

* * *

"Jinx!" Kid Flash yelled as soon as her cry for help reached him. He knew Jinx. She wouldn't call for help unless something was  _really_  bad. He rushed towards her, only stopping to punch Mammoth back to Pantha and her 'claws' on his way to help her.

Whatever scenario he had expected, the Nightmare Child wasn't one of them. Jinx was keeping it at bay with her energy, but it was pressing her back into an alley. Not a single atom of his existence doubted that something nasty, perhaps even the  _other_  bad guy who they were facing would be in that alley.

"Bushido!" he yelled, grabbing the Japanese warrior, "Jinx needs help!" At that, Argent and Bee looked up. Fastest boy alive or not, Kid Flash really suspected that he would need help for this one.

The four of them quickly made their way over to help their friend. Kid Flash was there first, creating a mini-tornado as he ignored the images that kept flashing in his mind—Jinx, on the ground bleeding, Jinx, not waking up, a spider clambering around a corner for him—and focusing on saving her.

Bushido attacked next, uttering a Japanese war-cry as his sword slashed through the fear creature. It had no effect, and the warrior continued to slash and slice and kick to no avail.

Bumblebee fired her stingers, then shrunk and zoomed around the monster, firing rapidly, only to get swatted out of the way by Bushido's kick. Realizing what he had done, Bushido quickly dashed off to see that she was alright.

Argent threw a large amount of plasma at the creature, transforming it into a large hammer at the last minute, in order to smash the creature, but it did nothing. The creature was impervious to all their attacks.

The other Titans, however were catching on that something was happening, and were rushing towards the alley entrance, leaving the HIVE Five to scramble off and lick their wounds. All eyes widened as they all realized what the creature was.

"Raven was right," whispered Cyborg. "We're under attack."

Argent, meanwhile, was getting too close to the creature. Suddenly, she froze; eyes wide, mouth agape, hands still poised as if to fire more plasma. She started screaming.

"Argent!" yelled Hot Spot, hands starting on fire. He charged at the creature, not caring that all other attacks had been fruitless. "Keep  _away_  from her!" he shouted, throwing a fireball at the Nightmare Child. Much to his surprise, the creature reeled away, screaming. Hot Spot was shocked, but he threw a follow-up. The creature ducked this one and leapt to a roof.

"That… hurt," whispered the creature, looking as shocked as them. Then it fled.

"Okay, that was just  _weird_ ," said Beast Boy firmly.

"Agreed," said Starfire, looking at Robin. "That was… most unexpected."

"Argent! Are you all right!" demanded Hot Spot, shaking her.

"I'm fine," she said, shivering. "That was  _not_  fun."

"What happened?" asked Jinx, who was struggling to get rid of Kid Flash, who had both arms wrapped around her tightly, as if she were some sort of teddy bear. A pink-haired teddy bear with bad luck powers and a very short temper, that is.

"I don't know, I just…" Argent floundered for words to describe what had just happened. "I must have gotten too close."

"This is not good," said Robin flatly. "We've got at least one, most likely two,  _very_  dangerous criminals in our city, one of whom we have no name for, no clue what powers she has, and have no idea what her agenda is! We have to get back to the Tower. Herald, can you take us there?"

There wasn't a response. "Herald?" Robin called again.

The tension increased, "You don't think…" started Raven, looking worried.

"Has anyone seen him?" said Kole, exchanging a concerned glance with Jericho.

"Not since last night…" said Speedy.

"I talked to him right before we both headed for bed," said Aqualad, biting his lip.

"Sparky, can you get a lock on his communicator?" said Bee, apparently recovered from being kicked out of midair.

"Sure thing," said Cyborg, firing up the computer on his arms. "He's at the Tower!" A general sigh of relief went up. "Hold on… this says Killowatt's there too."

"We should get to the Tower," said Robin firmly. "Titans go!"

* * *

"So, where are they?" asked Bushido quietly.

"My sensors must be off, since they're saying that they're in this room," said Cyborg, looking around the main living area.

"Where?" asked Raven.

Cyborg pointed at the couch, "Right over there but—" he cut off as Raven withdrew two communicators. Both were dented, but neither was damaged too much.

"So the Nightmare Child has taken our friends?" said Starfire quietly.

"It's looking like it," said Robin flatly.

"This is like the Brotherhood of Evil all over again," said Kole softly, reaching out to pat Gnarkk's head.

"This isn't like that," said Cyborg softly. "Not quite. I've got a bad feeling. It'd be  _real_  hard for someone to get inside the Tower."

"Slade got in," pointed out Beast Boy.

"Terra gave him the security codes," said Cyborg flatly. "Otherwise he'd have done it ages ago."

"The HIVE got in," pointed out Jinx, with one arm still curled around Kid Flash.

"You guys were loud and obvious about it. I can check the security cameras, but… I hate to say it, but… it's looking like, like—"

"Like someone let them in?" finished Speedy, looking stricken. "C'mon, Cy. None of us would do that! That's just…"

"I'm not saying that, Speedy. It's just looking like it. I'll check the security cameras before I make any accusations."

"Whatever happened," said Robin, looking out the window into the bay, "We need to be more careful. We've just lost two members of our team. I hoped bringing us all together would make things safer. Looks like I was wrong. But we need to be ready. For anything. Like I said earlier, we don't know who they really are or what they want, but we need to be  _ready_."

* * *

"That went well," said Changer, watching Robin's speech over the cameras. "How are they?"

"Contained," rasped Nightmare, looking worse for the wear after the encounter with the pyrokenetic.

"Perhaps we should deal with the fire boy next?" suggested the brunette amiably, looking her ally over with a critical eye.

"Yes. He will pay," snarled the creature, looking like a child about to throw a tantrum.

"I thought you were impervious to harm."

The fear creature looked at her hard. "I have not been hurt in over two thousand years of life. But then, I have slept a long time. Much has changed."

"So much has changed while you slept, Nightmare," sighed the girl, typing on a computer screen. "Did you ever leave that cave before I found you?"

"Once every century or so, to feed," said the creature.

"Well, you'll never have fed like this before," said Changer with a grin. "You seem to be stronger by the day."

"While you weaken," noted the Nightmare Child. Changer stiffened. The deadline was getting closer, she could  _feel_  it. Fear filled her mind a little as she thought of what would happen if she wasn't done by then. Which was how the Nightmare Child knew it, of course. She loathed that creature. Always getting into the small places in her head, ones that she'd ignored for years, bringing out problems in her plans, possibilities that she suppressed, and even long dormant fears. All of which made the creature a very dangerous ally. Sooner or later, it'd have to be destroyed. She shoved aside the thought, glad that the Nightmare Child only read fears, not thoughts.

"Yes," she said, continuing.

* * *

Raven was seven again, walking down the humongous hallway, each step echoing forever as she hurried. She didn't get a summons from Azar often, but when she did, she knew to hurry.

She reached the door, made of smooth, ancient wood, and raised her hand to knock.

"Come in," called Azar's voice before she had a chance. The door swung open. Raven walked in, and started the formal bow that she had been taught for occasions such as these.

"Cut that out Raven," said the woman's voice firmly. "Loose the guise of a memory, the Nightmare Child is busy elsewhere tonight."

Raven looked up, her white cloak becoming blue, and she found herself growing. She was now as tall as Azar, who was distinctly older than she had been when Raven was a child of seven.

"Azar?" asked Raven, looking at her elderly mentor, who was looking through a book. "But you're…"

"Dead, yes, very dead. That doesn't matter," said Azar, crossly, slamming the book closed. "Have a seat Raven. We have much to talk about, and not very much time."

"But if you're dead—"

"What, you thought that ring was just for decoration?" demanded Azar, a rare smile pulling at the woman's lips. "It connects me to the world of the living. As long as it is with you, I will be able to reach out and help you when you need me. Now, let's presume we've had a nice long catching up, and get straight to business. Sit down," she ordered, gesturing to one of many uncomfortable straight-backed chairs.

Azar sat down at her desk. The old, ancient books surrounded her, and behind her, framed in elegant twists of precious metals, the intertwined Mirrors of the Past, Present and Future hung on the wall.

Azar looked at Raven with a critical eye. "You've grown up."

"Yes," she said, not wanting to point out that Azar had wanted to skip catching up.

"You survived," said Azar, much to Raven's surprised. "Earth still exists."

"Yes," Raven repeated.

"I will confess Raven," said Azar, standing up again, unable to sit still, just like when Raven had been seven, "I never expected this."

Raven was shocked. Azar always expected everything. "But—"

"The chances of both you and the Earth surviving were incredibly slim Raven," said Azar flatly. "They were almost one in ten  _billion_. It is amazing that you survived. But," said Azar, turning around again, "This means you are growing up, which is something that I never anticipated. I never taught you for this possibility. I never trained you for the long term, because, honestly, I presumed that you and the Earth would perish."

Raven opened her mouth to reply, "Don't speak yet! You are growing up Raven. I do believe you have been noticing some development in your powers and abilities?"

Raven nodded shortly, but before she could go into details, Azar interrupted again. "I believe that you, despite years of training and discipline, have started to feel?"

"Yes," Raven muttered, feeling humiliated. She'd thought feeling emotions was a wonderful thing. Was she wrong?

"Before the ascension of Trigon, I would have said that was an incredibly dangerous and foolhardy thing to do. But Trigon is back in his prison, and it will take him another thousand years or so for him to gather enough energy to escape. So, it is only to be expected that you will find yourself with a little more emotional freedom. I would, however, caution you away from rage and hatred, as usual. They might trigger your demon side even now. However," said Azar, focusing her eyes on Raven firmly, "I understand you now have a boyfriend." Raven blushed again. "Very well." Raven was absolutely shocked. "I can no longer tell you how to live your life, although I question your taste. But that is for you to decide, not I anymore. However, I do recommend, oh, how do you say it? You don't get  _carried away_ anytime soon."

Raven turned absolutely red. "Azar!"

"It is the truth," said Azar flatly. "Now, I don't know much about the creatures that you are facing. The Mirror of the Past tells me that the Nightmare Child is a creation of magic. A few thousand years ago, some mages in a small tribe in a desert somewhere tried to speak to one of their gods by casting spells on a young girl, spells that were supposed to cause the child to speak with the voice of their god of fear; the process was wrong, if that god ever existed, which I doubt. Either way, the child was able to sense people's fear, and even control it. It drove the child insane, and she tried to kill the mages of the tribe. Their counter spell went wrong as well, sending the girl even further into insanity. The girl became a creature that lives of fear, creates fear, and is fear."

"Could we defeat it?" asked Raven, worried.

"It will not be easy to defeat. As you saw today, it does not like fire. However, as it feeds of the collective fear of your team, it grows stronger and stronger. Soon it will be able to overcome that weakness. The spells that created it into a monster are irreversible. However, the creature is lazy by nature. It hibernates for centuries at a time, only leaving its home to feed off more fear. If you can convince it to leave its ally, it will go back to sleep very quickly. However, convincing it to leave will be another matter. The Mirror of the Future gives me no hints," said Azar, shrugging. "As for its mistress… I don't know. I don't see anything. I don't know who or what she is anymore than you. I cannot help you. I am sorry."

Raven's eyes opened after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: There you have it. I'll try to be more prompt with the next posting. Thank you so much for taking your time to read, so could you please give a little more of it to leave me a little note in the form of a review?**
> 
> **The Not Very Punctual,**
> 
> **Hinn-Raven**


	7. Ashes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Um… yeah… really sorry about the lack of updates. But then there was the grounding, the musical, and a lot of writers block. So I hope this was worth the wait. I'm not going to keep you from it for very long.**
> 
> **Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. Otherwise I'd be too busy writing scripts for the tenth season or something like that to write fanfiction.**

Changer walked down the road, glancing in all directions. This was an area of town that most people would stay away from. Dark, dank, and all those rumors that the HIVE Five had their top secret Head Quarters within its vicinity... she smiled at the thought. What civilians found so terrifying about the HIVE Five, she'd never quite understand. They had a love of chaos, sure, and powers that, in  _competent_  beings, could be very useful, but they instead enjoyed petty theft, pirating music, and mayhem. It just bothered her. Ever since that Jinx girl had left, they'd become even less competent. She'd been the tie-breaker, the voice of reason, the planner, and the one who actually was aware of what was going on. No wonder she'd crossed over, with what her options were.

A huge, muscular form came out of the alley. The figure lunged at her, but she was no longer there. He spun around, looking for her, only to see she was leaning against the alley wall, fifty feet away.

"Now Mammoth, that wasn't very nice," Changer said, smirking.

Mammoth froze in horror. "It's you," he whispered.

"That's right!" she said cheerfully, flashing a smile that could be considered charming to people who didn't know her.

"I didn't, that is, you didn't tell us that," he stammered, trying to explain. She didn't take being attacked very well, as several bruises on Billy Numerous could attest to.

"I know," she said, smiling. "I don't mind. Let's go find the rest of the boys. I need to talk to you."

Nodding, he led the way down the alley, grateful that she didn't have that scary pet-thing of hers with her. What  _was_  its name?

He pushed open the door, and Changer flashed another smile at him. He shivered. "Evening boys," she called, stepping in.

Kyd Wykkyd shot up into the air. Billy Numerous collapsed in on himself, leaving only one of him. Gizmo jumped, but relaxed when he, unlike the others, noted that the Nightmare Child wasn't with her today.

Seemore, however, had barely managed to keep his cool. "You didn't tell us you were coming."

"Did you get what I needed?" she demanded, glaring at him.

"Gizmo?" Seemore called. The young genius walked up, and handed Changer a sphere of silvery metal.

"Will it work?" she demanded, spinning it on her fingertips like a basketball.

"Crud munchin' right it will!" said Gizmo, indignant at the accusation that one of his machines wouldn't work.

"Just checking. We wouldn't want Nightmare to have to come back to get you to fix it now, would we?"

Seemore nodded. That thing was terrifying. None of them had been able to get much sleep after their run-in with it.

"Anyways, here's your money," she said, handing a check to the cyclops. He immediately began to scan it to make sure it was genuine. Confirming it was, he handed it to Kyd Wykydd to put away.

"Anything else?" he asked as his best friend disappeared with the check.

"Another assignment for you," she said, smiling.

"What do you need?" Seemore asked.

"This has all the information on it," she said, handing Gizmo a packet of papers. "When you're done, call this number," she added, handing Seemore a piece of paper. "I don't want to have to come and find you again."

"Yes ma'am," he muttered, pocketing the number. She turned to leave. Just outside the door, she froze.

"Oh, and Seemore?" she called lightly over her shoulder. "Tell the Titans about this, and you all die." She said it so matter of factly, so normally, it took a few seconds to realize that she was threatening them. But how had she known that he'd been thinking about calling Jinx about Changer?

"That girl is as creepy as all scum-brained Titans combined!" complained Gizmo, flipping through the papers she'd left behind.

"She sure is," agreed Mammoth, stuffing his face with something that was probably a month old by now.

"Not like we have much of a choice," said Seemore. "You want to cross her?"

They all shook their heads.

"Then we do what she says, and skip town soon. She won't need us forever," Seemore said. "And when she doesn't need us…"

* * *

"Negative, Robin," said Argent, floating over her area. "I'm not seeing any sign of Kilowatt or the Herald. You have any luck?"

"We have discovered his horn of teleportation," Starfire said, her face appearing on the communicator screen as well, "It was dented quiet badly. Within its vicinity we discovered a broken coffee mug, and we are unable to turn on any light fixtures within the vicinity of thirty feet of the horn."

"That sounds like Kilowatt. Did he turn on the light so he could see?" suggested Argent, flying low.

"It looks like it," said Robin grimly. "No one's having any luck?"

"We haven't found hide or hair of Nightmare Child, Kilowatt, or the Herald," said Hot Spot, his face appearing on her communicator as Starfire's disappeared.

Robin sighed. "What would they want with them? The Herald's pretty much useless without his horn, and why would they need Kilowatt?"

"Maybe the Herald got in the way," offered Hot Spot. In the background of his picture, Argent noticed that pizza place that Beast Boy and Cyborg raved about.

"Could be," agreed Robin. "But why Kilowatt?"

"We'll find out. How's the research going?" Argent asked as she landed on her feet on a roof top.

"We've been able to verify the story that Raven was able to recount about the Nightmare Child," Robin said, "But that still doesn't leave us with much. Raven's been talking about the symbolic importance of fire, about how it drives away fear and stuff, but that's just a theory."

"I've never heard that," Hot Spot commented, walking along a street, "About the fire driving away fear, that is."

"I didn't get that," admitted Robin. "You'd have to ask Raven about that."

"Yeah, I'll do that, when we get back," Hot Spot said. Robin and Starfire left the conversation.

"Hey Argent, want to meet up? We shouldn't be alone, not when we're all in terrible danger and all that."

Argent found herself laughing. She then felt guilty. Two of her friends were missing, and she was enjoying herself. But he  _was_  right…

"Yeah, sure," she said. "Where do you want to meet?"

"How about the Pizza Place?" he asked. "I think we're both nearby."

"Sure," she said, hanging up.

She landed in front of the place, crossed her arms, and waited.

A few minutes later, a five year old walked up to her. He was a small thing with brown curls and huge brown eyes. He was adorable. He tugged on her skirt. "Miss Argen'?"

"Yes?" she asked, wondering what he wanted.

"I drew this," he said, offering her a picture. In it, a person - probably her, since it was colored with maroon and black - was flying - she presumed, since there were what appeared to be birds around her - in front of a large T, probably the Tower. She smiled, touched.

"It's beautiful," she told him. The little boy grinned. She handed the drawing back to him.

"It's yours," he insisted, giving it back, his eyes pleading with her to keep it.

"Why, thank you," she said, putting it in the hidden pocket in her skirt.

"That your boyfriend?" he asked suddenly, pointing. Sure enough, Hot Spot was walking towards them.

"Yes it is, luv," she said. "What's your name?"

"Adam!" he said proudly.

"Nice to meet you, Adam," she said, smiling at him. He wandered off toward his mother, and Argent turned her attention to her boyfriend.

"What was that?" Hot Spot asked.

"He drew me this," she explained, handing it over.

He grinned. "Is that you?"

"I think so," she said, taking it back.

"You never smile like that," he informed her. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Come on, we've still got to keep looking."

"We've been looking since dawn. It's past noon now, and I'm hungry. How about lunch first?" he said, smiling.

"You set this up," she said, a grin appearing.

"What of it?" he said. "I've asked Robin if it was okay, and he said fine."

"Sure then," said Argent, who refused to admit that her stomach had been growling for the past hour or so.

They walked into the place, taking seats on the balcony. Argent ordered anchovy Pizza, while Hot Spot ordered a sausage, jalapeño, and extra cheese thing that had Argent disgusted. Their orders came quickly, and they started to eat.

Hot Spot gobbled his pizza down eagerly. He'd explained to her once that staying on fire all day used a lot of calories, so he needed to eat a lot. Which usually meant that he was almost constantly snacking, which could be pretty annoying. She recalled Jinx once having a similar complaint about Kid Flash. But at least Hot Spot hadn't tried to kiss her while his mouth was full of garlic pasta, like Jinx had complained about several times.

"Let's start searching again," said Hot Spot, sighing.

"Yeah, I guess we need to." She replied, grinning at him.

They stood up in unison as a scream pierced the air. The two of them looked around, searching for the source of the noise. "There!" Hot Spot shouted, identifying a nearby alleyway as the source.

They charge toward it, ready for a fight. What they found instead was a trembling figure in the corner, whimpering.

"Hey," Hot Spot called, striding forward, "Are you okay?"

Suddenly, there was a huge noise. Hot Spot turned around, just in time to notice a large, blinking  _thing_  attached to the wall of the alley. There was a countdown… Hot Spot felt his blood run cold. A bomb.

"Argent!" he yelled, trying to warn her, but before he had even finished her name, it went off. A bright, piercing light filled the air. Hot Spot was thrown back, and everything went dark.

* * *

Robin stood in the dark room, watching images on a screen. Him, in his apprentice uniform, fighting his friends. Him, as Red X, using their own weaknesses against them. He closed his eyes.

"Why are you showing me this?" he demanded. The Nightmare Child stood next to him, smirking.

"It is time that the fearless leader faces his fears," it hissed, showing off row after row of teeth.

Robin glanced at it as it morphed into Slade. "After all, Robin," it said, setting a hand on his shoulder. "It's not like you'll be around much longer."

"What do you want?" Robin said, not able to move. He felt the Nightmare Child's hand morph into something more like a claw.

"To feed," it whispered. "And the bravest ones always taste the greatest," it added with a hiss.

"You won't win," Robin said, still looking straight ahead. "You do know that."

The Nightmare Child just laughed. "We'll see." It then pushed him as the ground disappeared beneath him.

Robin landed on his feet, just in time to see Starfire turn to him. "Robin…"

"Starfire, you need to run!" he found himself saying. "Starfire, it's here!"

A bolt of bright light hit Starfire on the chest. Her eyes grew wide. "Robin?"

She fell. Robin rushed to the edge, just in time to see her fall into the ravine again. Just like when Terra… he turned and he was in the cavern of the Brotherhood of Evil.

Ice sculpture after ice sculpture, each one a Titan, frozen forever, trapped, screaming. His heart felt heavy. He had failed them. Again. He spotted Starfire's statue, and walked up to it. She appeared to be looking right at him, arms outstretched. A single tear was trailing down her cheek, frozen. He took her hand.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, feeling tears making their way down his face.

Suddenly the hand became shoulders, the frozen ice became flesh. Sorrow was replaced by raw fury.

"How could you?" he demanded. "You betrayed us!"

"Did you really think you could trust me?" mocked the traitor, a cruel smirk on her face. Or was it a he? He blinked. The face was swirling, continuously changing. One second it was Jinx, the next Lightning, Bushido, Jericho, Argent, the Herald, Pantha, Wildebeest… it was continuous.

"You let them in so easily," laughed the Nightmare Child. "Not a question did you ask, you just took them in. Let them inside."

"They helped us fight against the Brotherhood of Evil," he whispered.

"It was life or death for them, and they knew it. It was different. It was fight alongside you or be destroyed with you. Of course they fought. But now, your guard down, odds against you, why wouldn't they help us?"

"You're lying," he whispered.

"What do you know of their pasts? Of who they are? All you know is that they were heroes. At one point. But wasn't Terra a hero? Wasn't Jinx a villain?"

"That's not the point! They're heroes, and heroes would  _not_  help you!"

"You were a hero, and you helped Slade," whispered the Nightmare Child, morphing into the Joker, before deciding to return to Slade.

"He had my friends!" Robin protested.

"What about when you were Red X?" sneered the creature. "There was no incentive then."

"I had to stop Slade," Robin said. "I was obsessed."

It laughed that horrible, grating laugh. "Food for thought, that's all." It paused, and cocked its head as it shrunk back to normal form. "One last sight," it added, touching Robin's forehead.

Robin stood frozen, in front of a trapeze in the Big Top. The ringmaster was saying, "And now, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the Flying Graysons!" The crowd burst into cheers as the figures on the trapeze took a bow. They leapt into action, grabbing the ropes, and allowing themselves to fall. But then, everything went wrong. The trapeze wires snapped, and the figures started falling. Robin knew what would happen when they reach the ground…

Robin sat up at his desk, shaking. He'd dozed off.

"Robin? Robin?" it was Beast Boy, hammering on the door.

"Is something wrong?" Robin asked, opening the door, praying that it was just Beast Boy being silly again, not something actually bad.

One look at the changeling's face told him otherwise, however.

"It's Argent," Beast Boy said.

Robin swore vividly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: So, thanks a ton for reading. Once again, really sorry. I'll try to get better at this, I swear. Please, review? They really help motivate me.**
> 
> **The very tardy,**
> 
> **Hinn-Raven**


	8. Running Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Hello again. Yes, I'm actually being prompt, the world has ended. My parents have finally fufilled their promise and moved the old computer, which doesn't have internet, into my room, which makes it much easier to write. Hope you enjoy! Reviews are magical, so please leave them once you are done reading this!**
> 
> **I don't own the Teen Titans. If you keep insisting that I do, I'll have to send Changer and Nightmare Child after you.**

"Hot Spot!" yelled Kid Flash, looking out over the rubble of approximately two houses. "Hot Spot? You here?"

"His SOS defiantly originated from this location," said Cyborg, glancing at his arm-computer.

"Was it an automated SOS, or was it him?" asked Bumblebee, who was flying over the wreckage, using her bird's eye view advantage.

"It was the automatic SOS that happens every time a communicator is destroyed," confirmed Cyborg, pushing aside a large stone.

"Any casualties?" barked Robin, who was on his motorcycle, racing towards the scene, with Beast Boy and Starfire flying behind him in the background.

"None that we know of," said Jinx, the screens on their communicators switching to her. "The buildings are—were, that is—condemned. Unstable structures. The HIVE would occasionally hide here after a heist, but no one else seemed to use them."

"Thanks Jinx," said the Boy Wonder, looking relieved as Jinx left to go help her boyfriend shift through the rubble. "What about Argent? Did we get an SOS from her?"

"No SOS, but we are picking up her signal nearby," said Kole, looking very pale. "Jericho and I aren't finding any sign of her though."

"Well, keep looking," Bee said, swooping closer to the ground. "We better find them fast."

"Will do," confirmed Kole.

"Robin!" It was Bushido. "Wildebeest and I have located Argent!"

"Is she alright?" everyone chorused.

"She has been gravely injured," said the Japanese warrior. "But her wounds do not appear fatal."

"Someone tell Raven to get the Medical Bay ready," Robin ordered. "Kid Flash, will you be able to get Argent to the Tower?"

"That won't be a good idea," said the fastest boy alive. "Traveling that fast with open wounds? It'd only make things worse. Maybe Raven can teleport her?"

"Raven's got to save her energy to heal Argent and Hot Spot," said Robin flatly. "Cyborg, can you take her in the T-Car?"

"Sure thing, Rob," said the metal man, going over to help Pantha and Wildebeest carry the unconscious heroine to his baby.

"Any sign of Hot Spot?" said Robin, pulling into the scene.

"No," said Kole, looking very worried. Jericho placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"Robin?" said Lightning, walking up to the Boy Wonder. Robin blinked. Thunder and Lightning almost never referred to anyone by their real names, preferring a very long list of monikers for almost everyone.

"We have discovered the communicator of the Flaming One," said Thunder, looking very upset. He held out a communicator that was destroyed. "But there was no sign of him within a twenty foot radius."

"But we must keep searching!" Starfire declared, looking horrified. "Hot Spot is our friend, and we must locate him with much haste!"

"We will, Star," said Beast Boy. "Of course we will."

"And life signs?" asked Robin to Speedy softly as his girlfriend moved out of hearing.

"No," said the archer softly. "But that doesn't mean anything. It could be because whoever set this explosion took him, or he could be dead."

"I'm going to go with taken," said Aqualad grimly.

"What makes you say that?" Robin replied.

"That," Aqualad said, pointing at a roof-top, where the Nightmare Child lurked. The Titans struck battle positions.

"Where's Hot Spot?" demanded Robin. The Nightmare Child laughed its bone-chilling laugh.

"Gone," it said in a sing-song voice. "You won't find him here!"

"Where is our friend?" demanded Starfire, her eyes and hands glowing brightly. The creature merely flashed its teeth at the princess of Tameran. Howling a battle cry, the alien threw herself at the monster, releasing a barrage of starbolts at it. It didn't even move as the projectiles went right through it.

"Ha!" yelled Lightning, sending out a large stream of his name-sake at the monster. Much to his disappointment, it didn't react to the electricity. Slowly, as if it had all the time in the world, the Nightmare Child got to its "feet" and then lunged at Starfire.

"Keep back!" yelled Jinx, sending a wave of bad-luck energy at it, which, just like last time, seemed to prevent it from advancing any further. Pantha through a piece of rubble at it, to no avail, while Más and Menos were reduced to lapping around the creature and insulting it in Spanish.

"Speedy! Kid Flash!" yelled Robin, his voice reigning over the din of all the Titans attacking the monster. The yellow blur that was Kid Flash ran forward, making a complete circle around the creature, and then scooping up Jinx and running back.

"Get back!" yelled Speedy, who was perched on top of the R-Cycle, with his bow drawn. All the Titans moved away, wondering what was going on. He released an arrow, which landed at the creature's feet.

"You missed," mocked the Nightmare Child, right before the arrow burst into flames. The flames made a circle around it, using the oil that Kid Flash had dropped around it as fuel. The monster hissed in pain, trying to avoid the flames.

"Nice shot," said Aqualad to his teammate, walking forward.

"Thanks," was the reply, as the Green Arrow's former side-kick dismounted Robin's motorcycle.

"Where is Hot Spot?" demanded Robin, walking forward to glare at the trapped creature.

The Nightmare Child was too busy trying to avoid the flickering flames to answer. Or even to mock him.

"What do you want with us?" demanded Bumblebee, standing beside him, crossing her arms.

"Where are you from?" added Jinx, glaring at the monster.

"Where are our friends?" finished Starfire softly.

The creature opened its mouth, as if to reply, before a fire-extinguisher crashed to the ground in front of it. The foam went everywhere, putting out the ring of fire and coating Robin in the foam. When their eyes went back to the Nightmare Child, it was gone.

Robin sighed, bowing his head. "Let's wrap this up."

* * *

"That's all I can do," said Raven, removing her glowing hands from Argents head. "The Nightmare Child has Hot Spot?"

"It looks like it," said Robin.

"How'd it escape?" said Cyborg.

"Someone threw a fire-extinguisher," was the curt reply. "We couldn't find it again."

"And next time, it'll be expecting that trick," sighed Cyborg.

"I'll research fire spells, see if there's anything I can do for our next encounter with that thing," offered Raven.

"That sounds good. Thanks Raven," said the Boy Wonder. There was a long pause.

"I hope Argent will remember what happened," said Cyborg, breaking it. "I'd love to know how she and Hot Spot got lured into that trap."

"You sure it  _was_  a trap?" asked Robin, looking up.

"Positive. That wasn't just someone with powers blowing something up, Rob, that was a bomb. A good one, too. I don't know who made it, but I'll work on it. It's certainly not your normal black-market explosive. It shouldn't be that hard to trace it back to its buyer."

"Good idea," said Robin, nodding. Cyborg left the room.

"I've got to go meditate," said Raven, starting to follow him. She turned around. "You'll stay with Argent?"

"Yes," said Robin, who was already sitting down in the chair.

"Call me if she wakes up," said the empath, looking at her friend. "And Robin? Don't blame yourself."

"I won't," he promised. "Too much," he added under her skeptical look. That got a genuine grin out of Raven.

* * *

"You okay, Sparky?" asked Bee, handing her boyfriend a large wrench as he tinkered with the inner-workings of his beloved T-Car.

"Yeah," said Cyborg, emerging with a large grease-spot on his face. Bee wiped it off with a rag that she'd brought for just that.

"Worried about Hot Spot?" asked the leader of the Titans East.

"Well, yeah," admitted that half-man, half-robot. "I mean, last time he got captured, we nearly got destroyed by the Brotherhood of Evil. What will happen  _this_  time?"

"Nothing will happen," Bumblebee assured him. "We're the Titans. We can handle anything, and a little dream monster and her handler are  _not_  going to make us back down."

"Knock on wood," said Cyborg with a grin. Laughing, she reached over and knocked on the peg-board for his tools.

"Happy now?"

"Yep," he said, closing the hood to the T-Car.

"You're done?"

"Yeah, she's fine," he said, looking at his girlfriend with a smile.

"So, you're going to pay attention to just me now?" she said, hands on her hips.

"Yep," Cyborg said. "Do you have plans, Miss Karen?"

"You, Mr. Stone, are taking me out to dinner, remember?" she said with a smile.

"Am I now?" he said, feigning surprise. "Well, I was wondering why I have reservations for two at the Green Elephant tonight."

Bumblebee smiled at him and got into the passenger seat of the T-Car. "Hey, have you got the plans drawn up for the Titans East's Car?"

"Working on it," he said, getting into the driver's seat. "You'll just have to promise me not to let Speedy drive. Robin once mentioned his driving history to me."

"Yeah, once I let him drive the vehicle we have now," recalled Bee.

"What happened?"

"He drove it into the ocean," she said.

"How'd he manage that?" he asked, laughing.

"He claimed he swerved to avoid a lamppost," she said, shrugging.

"Ah," he said.

She looked out the window. It was dark now, and the lights of the city were everywhere. This place was really beautiful. It was considered the jewel of the West Coast, filled with places of art and nature, which was a far cry from Steel City, the industrial capital of the US, filled with polluting factories and harsh, rugged terrain. She'd really missed this place.

"So," she said, puling herself out of her thoughts, "What kind of food does this place serve?"

"Chinese," he said, smiling.

"Better than that barbeque place you took me last time," she said, laughing at the memory.

"Hey, that was great food!" he protested.

"You were  _coated_ in the BBQ sauce," she pointed out. "They threw us out."

"They finally let me back in last month," he told her, grinning.

"Well, that's something," she said.

He pulled into the parking lot. "We're here."

"I kind of figured that," she said, shaking her head.

* * *

Hot Spot felt like a very enthusiastic someone had pounded on his head with a sledgehammer, and then tossed him off a cliff. He ached from head to toe, and was, much to his discomfort, not even lying down properly. Instead, he was leaning against a curved plastic surface, with his knees pulled up against his stomach. He opened his eyes, wondering what had happened.

The first thing he noticed is that he was powered down. That never was a good sign, especially when he didn't recognize his surroundings, as he did now. He stood up, and looked around. He was in a plastic tube, in a dark place. Probably a warehouse, or an abandoned or condemned building, he thought, looking around. He noticed something glowing ever so slightly in the corner, and turned. He pushed aside a thing plastic thing that dangled from the ceiling that batted at his face, and looked closely. He felt sick.

Kilowatt was in the corner. The electrical teen was clearly unconscious, and a complicated series of wires lead out of hi, and led to what appeared to be a generator. Kilowatt had been reduced to a living, breathing source of electricity. He looked around, and spotted the Herald, who was leaned against a wall, with his hands chained to the wall above his head. Seeing that Hot Spot was looking at him, the teleporting hero managed a small smile. At least he was conscious, thought Hot Spot.

Suddenly, the Herald's eyes widened, and he started gesturing as well as he could for Hot Spot to turn around. He quickly did so, eyes widening as he spotted not the Nightmare Child, but someone else standing right behind him.

"So, you're finally up," she said, looking at him. "You took awhile."

"What do you want?" he demanded, but it came out muffled. That was when he realized that he was wearing an oxygen mask. The thin piece of plastic that had hit him in the face was a feed for it, keeping him alive. He tried to power up to confirm his suspicions, but found that he couldn't.

"No use," said the girl cheerfully, sitting down by a series of monitors that he hadn't noticed. She pressed a button on the keyboard, which brought them to life. "The tube is completely drained of oxygen, with the exception of your mask. And I  _really_  wouldn't recommend starting your breathing supply on fire. I'm not sure if even you could survive that."

"Who  _are_  you?" he demanded, looking around his tube. A silvery ball thing was attached to the ceiling, well out of his reach, and appeared to be what was pumping the oxygen out of his prison and supplying his mask with enough to keep him alive.

"I'm Changer," she said, not turning to face him. "Now be quiet. I've got work to do," she jabbed a button, and pulled up an image on one of the monitors. With a lurch in his stomach, he realized she was looking at the Medical Bay, where an unconscious Argent was lying. At least she was alive, he comforted himself.

"Why do they call you Changer?" he asked. If he was captured, he might as well try to figure out some answers, in case he managed to escape later. Although, without of his powers, that might be very difficult.

"I told you to be quiet," she said, starting to type.

"I don't take orders," he said. "So, why do they call you Changer?"

"Soundproof the tube, would you Nightmare?" she said, not even turning away from her work. He then noticed the fear creature lurking in the shadows. The creature walked over to the circuit board that was open on the wall, and flipped a switch. Hot Spot couldn't hear anything but his own breathing after that.

* * *

Robin opened another file, this one on Bushido. Place of birth, date of birth, name of hero who'd vouched for him, names of people who'd trained him, names of parents, and a quick biography. No sign of any contact with any villainous organizations, or being recruited by any villains. Another dead end, he thought, tiredly, as he tossed Bushido's file on top of Kole's, Thunder and Lightning's, Argent's, Pantha's, Red Star's, Wildebeest's, and Jinx's.

He grabbed one of the last ones left, Jericho's. He flipped it open, and started reading. He skipped over place and date of birth, glanced at the unfamiliar name of the hero who vouched for him, but the hero had been deemed reliable by the Justice League's files, that he'd checked without permission, who apparently, had also trained Jericho to use his abilities. His heart stopped.

_Names of parents: Adeline and Slade Wilson._

_Slade Wilson._ The name might as well have been written in neon. His heart pounding in his ears, he stood up instantly and dashed to his computer.  _Slade Wilson_ , he typed into the search bar, his hands shaking so badly he kept making mistakes.

The information was there. The information that had evaded him for years was right before his eyes now. Slade's history was laid out before him in the government files. All he'd been missing was the one, single piece of information, the last name. And now he had it.

And Jericho was his son, he thought, growing cold. Jericho was the son of the man who'd nearly destroyed the Titans occasion after occasion. The man who'd turned Terra from a hero into a monster who hadn't cared as she tried to kill them, the man who'd nearly killed Starfire in front of his eyes in an attempt to make Robin into a monster like himself, a man who'd played on his worst fears in order to make Robin nearly destroy himself, and who had literally made a deal with the devil to keep himself alive, no matter what the cost.

It all clicked in his head. Unable to destroy the Titans from the outside, this time he was repeating the Terra incident. A mole within their organization, ready to betray them at any given moment. Anger grew within him. There was no way that Jericho could not have been aware of this. Livid, Robin printed out the picture of Slade, and the biography information. He grabbed Jericho's information and stormed out of his study.

Jericho was going to be sorry that Beast Boy had ever found him on top of that mountain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: I hope you enjoyed spending your time on this. So if you can just press the little button and spend a little longer...**
> 
> **Next update might not be until week after next, I've got finals coming up.**
> 
> **The One and Only,**
> 
> **Hinn-Raven**


	9. Roses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Hello again. It's summer now, which means updates! Yay! At the moment, I'm away from home, (yes, I'm updating from a hotel,) so blame my typos on that.**
> 
> **Thank you to every single wonderful person who reviewed!**
> 
> **Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. However, Changer and Nightmare Child are mine.**

The scene in the Operations Center was oddly peaceful for a bunch of teenagers who were terrified out of their wits. Jinx and Kid Flash were preoccupied cuddling, while Speedy, Aqualad and Cyborg were playing a video game as loudly as they could. Starfire was deep in conversation with Pantha about Pantha's various trips to countries that Starfire had never seen or heard of, with Red Star adding the occasional comment or asking the odd question. Raven was sitting on the couch, deeply engrossed in her book, with her head leaning on Beast Boy's shoulder as he talked with Thunder and Lightning. Bushido was on his knees, speaking with the three youngest Titans about his own experiences as a child. Kole and Jericho were sitting side by side, both cross-legged, knees almost touching, as Jericho softly strummed his guitar.

"That sounded great," Kole said, smiling at the mute Titan as the song ended. Jericho smiled back, a slight pink tinge appearing on his face. He started plucking out a familiar tune, which made Kole laugh. "I didn't know you liked the Beatles!"

He grinned widely at her, and continued playing.

The large metal doors opened, revealing Robin, who was half walking, half running as he entered the main room, a file clutched in his hand. All the heads in the room turned as their leader strode in, looking absolutely livid. He walked right up to Jericho, towering over the sitting Titan.

"What's this?" he nearly screamed, throwing the file down onto Jericho's lap. Pictures and papers spilled out. Jericho saw the top one, and became ashen.  **SLADE WILSON** was the heading on the first page. A picture below showed a man with only one eye and silvery-white hair, with the most neutral expression possible. He scrambled to his feet, nearly dropping his guitar.

"Robin?" It was Starfire, face filled with concern. "What is happening?"

"Slade," Robin growled, his masked eyes never leaving Jericho as far as he could tell. Jericho's heart was in his throat, racing faster than it had in ages. One of the first things he'd learned after the battle with the Brotherhood of Evil was about Slade the villain. How he had manipulated the Titans, how he'd forced Robin to become his apprentice, how he'd used the girl Terra's fears and lack of control against her so that she became his weapon, and how he'd worked for Raven's own father to help end the world. He'd made the connection immediately. He should have expected this.

"Slade?" Raven's voice, alarmed out of its monotone, asked. "What happened Robin?"

"Slade's his  _father_." Robin's voice was filled with hatred. It was not looking good, Jericho despaired. Beast Boy had told him all about Robin and his obsession, his loathing, of his father. And none of the Titans disagreed with him.

"What?" Jinx was on her feet, eyes wide. "Slade? As in the guy—"

"Who hired you and the HIVE to take us down? As in the guy you whose tried to destroy this city time after time? Yes, Jinx, him."

"Jericho?" It was Pantha, shock and concern written on her face. "Is this true,  _mi amigo?_ "

Jericho looked around, seeing how the Titans had formed a ring around him. All of their faces were wrought with surprise, shock, anger, and fear. There was no way out. He nodded once.

Gasps filled the room. He saw no pity, no sympathy in the room. He was in a room of enemies, or people who perceived him as one. He saw Kole, whose eyes were filled with tears as she backed away from him. He saw Beast Boy, disbelief etched onto his face. Más and Menos were whispering to each other in rapid-fire Spanish, not looking at him. He was alone.

"You betrayed us." Robin was livid. "You lied to us, you tricked us! We trusted you, and the whole time you were working for him!"

"I think that's going a bit far, Robin." Jinx's voice rang through the room clearly. She stepped into the circle that had been formed around Jericho by the heroes, and stood next to him, hands on hips. "Just because Jericho's Slade's son, that doesn't mean he betrayed us to Slade."

It was as if her words had doused the entire crowd in cold water. They all blinked and started talking amongst themselves. The anger in the room went down.

"Um…Jinx?" Kid Flash dashed forward, next to her. "I don't think—"

"No, Wally," she said, using his civilian name casually as she shrugged his hands off her shoulders. "Someone has to say this." She focused her eyes on the leader of the Titans. "So, tell me. What evidence do you have that he is  _working_  for Slade? Sure, he's just admitted that he's his dad, but how do we know that he's Slade's spy in our network?"

Robin looked surprised that someone was actually thinking clearly in this situation. "None," he admitted. "But the chances…"

"Of you recruiting Slade's son? Let's see, you only asked all your contacts to recommend you to every last young hero on the planet. You only tracked down every super-powered teen that was on the side of good, no matter how active they were within the crime fighting life! You recruited  _me_ , for crying out loud!"

"She  _has_  a point," Kole said, stepping forward. "We can't just accuse him without evidence, Robin. We're supposed to be the good guys, remember?"

"But Slade's his  _father_ ," Robin said. "It wouldn't be the first time that he's planted a mole in our organization! That would just make him all the more likely to recruit Jericho."

"Not everyone is like their parents," Jinx said, glancing at Raven before looking away again. "You can't choose your family. You can just pick your own path," she looked around to the other Titans.

"She's right," Raven said, stepping forward, touching Robin lightly on the shoulder. "Look at my father."

"Jinx has assessed the situation well," said Thunder quietly. "We too, have had past encounters with the man, Slade. We believe that the silent one should at least receive the benefit of the doubt." Jericho found that he was regaining his ability to breathe.

"Robin," Starfire said quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder. Robin paused, closing his eyes.

"We could just ask him," suggested a voice. Robin's eyes snapped open, seeking the source of that comment. Jinx was looking at Kid Flash, who was grinning broadly again, apparently not worried by the tense situation.

There was silence for several seconds before Jinx sighed loudly. "Well?" she asked Jericho, who shook his head.

"Sadly, that doesn't mean much." It was Bumblebee. "But even if you  _aren't_  working for him, you  _could_  clear up a lot of questions Robin has about Slade. What do you say, Robin?"

Robin nodded. "Come on." Hs voice was a lot less angry now. Jericho felt his heart rate return to something that bore a closer resemblance to normal. He followed Robin, Jinx, Kid Flash, and the rest of the original Titans to the Interrogation Room.

"Did  _anyone_  else never see this coming?" Speedy asked, vaulting over the couch to grab the controller as they walked away.

It broke the tension. Más and Menos seized the controller that had been used by Cyborg as Aqualad picked up his. The game restarted, and the rest of the Titans resumed their activities but the aura of contentment was gone.

Nightmare Child was absolutely glowering from the corner. "I  _hate_  that girl," she complained as she slipped out the window of the Tower that had been opened a crack by someone earlier in the day.

* * *

"So much for that," Changer griped, leaning back into her swivel chair. "And after all that work, too," she complained. Hiding those files on the Internet, opening up the Government websites that had the necessary information and getting Nightmare to play on everyone's fear of Slade had not been easy. Fun, though.

"That girl spoiled things," said Nightmare, sulking. "They were ready to rip him apart, if I'd been able to play with them a little longer."

"I know," she said with a sigh. "It's time we take care of her."

The Nightmare Child started laughing again. Sighing, Changer plugged her ears and kept working. That thing never took things seriously, despite the fact that it was aware of how much things could be different if they succeeded. And if they failed… she pushed that thought to the side, blaming the fear creature's influence that kept bringing it up in her mind.

* * *

"So…" Beast Boy had been selected for the dubious task of asking Jericho the questions. After Raven and Jinx had layered the room with heavy enchantments so that Jericho couldn't lie, not even with writing or sign language.

Jericho shrugged. A touch screen, complete with a stylus for him to write with sat in front of him. Jericho knew that the answers were being projected on to a large screen on the other side of the wall, where the majority of the Titans had gathered.

The green changeling sat down across from Jericho. "When did you last see Slade?" he asked.

 _About ten years ago, when Mom shot his eye out,_ Jericho wrote in his neat handwriting. Beast Boy relaxed a little.

"Has he tried to contact you since?" he said, glancing at the list of questions that Robin had written down for him, apparently not trusting him to figure things out on his own.

_No._

"That's good," Beast Boy said. "And why did your mom shoot out his eye?"

Jericho paused, as if trying to figure out how to explain that,  _I'd been captured by a group. He had some information that they wanted, and they were using me as a hostage to try to get it. He didn't give it to them._

"What?" His face was horrified. "That is  _messed up_ , even for Slade!"

 _They cut my throat,_  Jericho added, reaching up to pull down his shirt collar just enough so that Beast Boy could see the faint scar that was there.

"So, that's why—" He cut himself off. "And your mom took offense."

 _Bit of an understatement,_  Jericho scribbled.

"I suppose. So, how'd you get your powers?"

_He did experiments._

"On  _you?_  You know, the more I learn about Slade, the less I like this guy! And I never liked him much in the first place!"

_Welcome to the club._

Beast Boy laughed at that. He went on to the next question on the list.

* * *

Jinx stared at the mirror, wincing as she removed the metal clips from her hair. She let her hair fall down, wave after wave of bright pink hair. She shuddered. Why, why, why,  _why_ , did her hair had to be pink? She didn't mind pink, but pink  _hair_ … of all the colors of the rainbow, why had her freaky genes decided to be pink? She set the clips on the table as she spotted her speedster sneak up behind her.

"I love it when your hair's down," Kid Flash said, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek.

She rolled her eyes, but turned her head so she could kiss him.

"Why'd you do it, Jinx?" he asked, pulling away. "How come you could think so clearly? I mean, we were all mad, we were scared, and I swear, that if you hadn't stepped in, we'd have  _attacked_  Jericho. But you did. I'm not complaining, but how'd you do it?"

"I had a thought," she said, twisting out of his grip, turning to face him.

"I have those too! Not so much during the school week, though."

She laughed. "Shut up. I just thought how weird it was that  _Jericho_  would be the traitor. There are around a dozen Titans that I'd name as more likely traitors, myself topping that list."

"Jinx," he said, getting the look he always did when she started talking about when she'd been a villain.

She covered his lips with a finger. "Listen. I've got a criminal past, no matter how much you don't like it, I've been connected with Slade before and, according to a certain Titan who is found of traffic-light colored spandex and red-haired aliens, I've got a 'suspicious character', whatever that means."

"When'd he tell you that?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her again.

"Shortly after the Brotherhood of Evil fight," she said, shrugging as well as she could with his arms like they were.

Jinx thought he muttered something about paranoid birds that'd hatched too early, but it was a bit fast for her to tell. She laughed at him. "You can stop being so defensive," she informed him dryly. "Most of the time, they're telling the truth."

"I still refuse to believe  _half_  the stories that Beast Boy tells me," was the reply.

"I said  _most_  of the time, Wally, not the whole time," she said, reaching up and removing his mask. He laughed and kissed her again.

"Have you brushed your teeth?" she demanded as he drew away. "Your breath smells awful!"

"Sorry," he said, dashing over to the adjoining bathroom. Jinx rubbed her temples melodramatically, and flopped onto the bed. A few seconds later, her boyfriend joined her on his side.

"Jinx?" He sounded nervous. She looked over at him. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you…" As he said that, he pulled out a small box.

"That  _so_  better not be what I think it is," she said. He grinned at her cheekily and opened it, revealing the ring.

"Wally," she groaned, looking at him. "Why?"

"Jinx, listen to me. I'm not asking you to marry me tomorrow, or next week, or even in a year! I just know that I want to spend my life with you. And I want to do it properly!" he said, rushing.

She looked at him. She looked at the silver ring with the single pink diamond. She wanted to hit him. She wanted to kiss him. She had to say it. "That ring? It's cliché," she informed him in her flattest tone.

He looked completely, hilariously baffled. "Wha—"

"But yes. On  _one_  condition."

"What?" he asked, looking wary.

"I get to meet that Aunt Iris of yours finally." He blanched. He'd been avoiding introducing the two women in his life for over a year now, for fear of many things, number one being that they'd hate each other, number two being that they'd get along  _too_  well. He remembered how easily Jinx had gotten  _Speedy_  to spill stories about him, and they weren't even the same gender!

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?' he said, kissing her, pressing the box into her hand as he did so.

"Without a doubt," she informed him. "And we're waiting a while for the wedding."

"How long are we talking?" he said.

"At least until I'm eighteen," she said flatly. "I know  _you're_  that age already, but I want to be too. That's just eight months. You can wait that long, at least."

"I can," he admitted. "No complaints with me. We should wait awhile anyways, since I don't want Uncle Barry calling me up, demanding to know if you're pregnant."

"Oh, now we're  _so_  waiting at least nine months!"

"…I should really learn to keep my mouth shut, shouldn't I?"

* * *

Jinx woke up to a loud heart and a dry mouth. She looked over, seeing Kid Flash still deep in the land of sleep. She smiled at him, kissing him gently on the cheek, slipping out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. She grabbed one of the glasses he'd stolen from the kitchen and stashed in there, knowing Jinx's habit of getting thirsty in the middle of the night. She poured herself a glass out of the tap, and took a long drink.

"Boo," said a raspy voice behind her. She dropped the glass, which splintered at her feet. The Nightmare Child stood in front of her.

"Kid—" she started to scream, but found all the air gone out of her lungs. She couldn't move. She couldn't warn Wally that this  _thing_  was right here, standing in front of her, probably going to kill her, and that it would probably go for him next.

She tried to raise her arms to fight, but found that she couldn't. She tried to send off a wave of her power, but nothing happened. Fear flooded her more than ever. This wasn't like one of the power inhibitors they'd put on her in the past, in prison or detention at the HIVE. When one of those was on her, she'd still been able to feel her power, feel the way it  _lived_  within her. Now, it was as if her powers didn't exist. As if she was a normal, helpless, stupid civilian.

Darkness encased her, and she didn't think anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: *evil grin* I hope you enjoyed this enough that you will press the button and leave me a review! Even if you didn't a simple explanation of why you didn't like it will make me happy.**
> 
> **Until next time,**
> 
> **Hinn-Raven**


	10. Fury

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: So here's the next chapter! Sorry for the delay, my beta had a busy week and couldn't get back to me. To make up for it, this chapter is a bit longer than the last one. (And even then, I didn't get about half of the scenes I wanted to include in it. They'll be in the next one though, don't worry.)**
> 
> **Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or alerted. Each one brings a grin to my face. Please enjoy.**

Kid Flash opened his eyes as the light streamed through the window of the room he shared with Jinx. He glanced over at her, only to find that her side of the bed was empty.

He sat up. "Jinx?" He got out of bed. He noticed the door to the adjoining bathroom was closed. He smiled and vibrated through the door. She'd probably hit him, but he didn't mind.

The bathroom was empty. He felt confused. "Jinx? You here?" he called again, taking a step forward. He felt his foot come down on something. He knelt to see what it was. Glass. Something arrived in his stomach that made him start to worry.

He opened the door. She probably had just gone down to breakfast, he reasoned with himself. No reason to panic… He found his mask where Jinx had tossed it the night before, on the dresser. He pulled it over his head, and then grabbed for his communicator, and froze.

Jinx's hair bands were still on the dresser.

He felt sick. Jinx  _never_  left the room without her hair bands. Even in a crisis, she would stop to put those things in her hair. She absolutely  _hated_  people seeing her without her trademark hairdo.

So why had she left them off?

Fear filled every inch of him. This was worse when Hot Spot, one of his closest friends, had gone missing. Jinx was gone.

And he hadn't been able to stop it.

* * *

Beast Boy grinned at his girlfriend—he loved saying that—and tried to finish his joke. "And  _then_  the piano player said, 'No, but if you hum the first few bars I'm sure I'll be able to play it!'" Raven didn't respond. "Get it?"

"Yes, but it's still not funny," she informed him. He deflated. She smiled at him, slightly apologetically. "Sorry."

"It's okay," he sighed, forking himself a large amount of tofu eggs. "So, are you sure you don't want anything?"

"Beast Boy, just because I'm dating you, doesn't mean that I'll eat your fake food."

"Oh."

She finished her tea, and set down the cup. She leaned forward, and carefully kissed him on the cheek. "I'm going to go meditate. See you later."

"See you later Rae!" he said, feeling more cheerful.

Raven smiled before turning away, heading towards the door. As it opened, Raven started to move through it, only to nearly collide with Kid Flash. "Watch where you're going!" Raven said.

Kid Flash didn't respond. "They got Jinx."

Every head in the room rotated to stare at him. Beast Boy froze. He couldn't have heard right.

"You mean—" Robin began.

"The Nightmare Child and its owner, or trainer, or whatever. They got Jinx. She's gone."

"How do you know?" Starfire asked, concerned. "It could be conceivable that she merely got up early."

Kid Flash held out a communicator that had been stepped on by someone with a heavy foot. "I found this outside our door."

"Wally," Robin began, looking at his oldest friend with great concern. Kid Flash placed the broken communicator on the counter.

"I've got to go," said the fastest boy alive, taking off, completely ignoring Robin's rule. He didn't care anymore.

Kole looked worried. "Maybe we should go after him."

"What do you mean?" Robin demanded, turning on her.

"Well," Kole began, looking behind her at Jericho—they _always_  were hanging out lately, Beast Boy thought—who nodded. "About three months ago, Jericho and I helped Kid Flash and Jinx take down this gang in Central City."

"Yes," Robin said, not getting where this was going.

"And anyway, during one of the fights, one of the gang members actually managed to hit Jinx with a gunshot. He shot her in the leg. And Kid Flash…" she looked like she wasn't sure how to explain what happened next.

 _Kid Flash went berserk_ , Jericho signed. Kole nodded in agreement.

"He was absolutely crazy, smashing them into walls, stealing their weapons, and just punching them. The fight was over in a few seconds. He was going as fast as he could. All because Jinx was hurt. And that was when he knew she'd be alright in the end."

"And now he doesn't," Speedy said, masked eyes wide. "He'll be taking it out on any villain he finds."

"And who can blame him?" Beast Boy said softly, wondering what he would do if Raven disappeared.

Nobody did.

* * *

"That's the last of them," said Gizmo with a sigh, glancing at the computer screen. "Now let's blow this crud-munchin' town."

"I agree," See-More muttered. "Sooner we get out of here, the better."

Kyd Wykkyd nodded in agreement. Suddenly, his eyes got wide, and he tried to gesture to something wildly. A force slammed into See-More as his best friend attempted to warn him about the blur of yellow and red that had entered their headquarters.

"Where is she?" Kid Flash yelled, holding Jinx's replacement by the throat.

"Where's who?" See-More gasped. The grip relaxed just a little more, so he could breathe.

"Jinx." His bright blue eyes were filled with fury. See-More was reminded of Jinx on a few occasions, when she'd been absolutely pissed.

"What happened to her?" He couldn't help the small amount of concern in his voice.

"Heard of the Nightmare Child?" snarled the red head, leaning close to the cyclops.

"Yes," See-More admitted. He was dropped to the floor.

"Tell me what you know," Kid Flash demanded.

"Why should we help you find that brainless pink-haired traitor?" demanded Gizmo. Next thing he knew, he was stuck to the ceiling, hanging there by the cables of one of his dismantled machines. "Ah!"

"It showed up about a week ago," said Mammoth with a shrug.

"It was with this one creepy girl," Gizmo howled, trying to get loose.

"They wanted Gizmo to make them a few machines, paid us money, and told us if we told you lot, we were dead," See-More added.

Kid Flash was not appeased. "What kind of machines?"

"We don't know," admitted See-More. "She gives him the blueprints, and he has to follow them exactly, or she knows. And then she's pissed. And that's no fun."

"What does the girl look like?"

"Brown hair, pale skin, tall, wears sunglasses, jeans, t-shirts and sneakers. And she's not scared of anything." See-More said.

"Fights dirty," Mammoth added. "Very dirty."

"And sometimes, it's like she reads minds." See-More said. Billy nodded once.

"How does she pay you?" Kid Flash asked, crossing his arms.

"Checks," See-More said. "But each time they're signed with a different name, are from a different bank, and have entirely different handwriting on them. But they're all real."

"Fingerprints?"

"Never."

His anger didn't seem appeased. "You better leave town." He was gone after that.

* * *

"I'll kill them!" raged Changer, "I'll kill them, and throw their corpses into the ocean, and then resurrect them so they can drown!"

"You can't do that," pointed out Nightmare, enjoying Changer's anger. Its ally had counted too much on the fear that Nightmare would create in the HIVE boys.

"Not yet," snarled the girl, turning around to face the fear monster. "After we're done with the Titans, I'm hunting those idiots down, and killing them  _painfully_."

Nightmare didn't care. "It's not like he learned much," it said.

"They know what I look like," Changer said with a frown. "I don't like that. It might make it easier for them to track my movements."

"Then change what you look like," Nightmare said with a shrug.

"It's not that simple, Nightmare," the brunette said with a sigh. She pressed a few buttons on her monitors, her mind churning with all the possible ways she would torture and kill those HIVE boys. She  _had_  warned them, after all.

"What are we going to do now?" the Nightmare Child demanded. Changer felt exasperation on top of her raw anger. The things that she would she give for that monster to actually gain an attention span…

"Let's go scare the Titans," Changer sighed, pushing away from her desk. The Nightmare Child actually  _giggled_  at the prospect. The two of them exited their hideout.

* * *

Argent felt heavy. Every inch of her felt as if she'd just been frozen again. The headache was there, along with that numb feeling for everything else and the strange sense of being alone. She opened her eyes with a groan.

She didn't recognize where she was. It was white, like a hospital. Everything felt sterile. It even smelled it. She sat up, noting the IV tube that was coming out of her arm, connected to clear liquid and the oxygen mask on her face. She pushed aside the mask in order to wake up the dozing Boy Wonder who was sitting next to her.

"Argent!" Robin said. "You're awake."

"I thought that much was obvious," Argent said, yawning. "What happened?"

"Don't you remember?" he said, concerned.

She cast her memory back. Herald and Kilowatt disappearing, searching the city, her date with Hot Spot, the scream, the explosion. Her eyes widened. "Hot Spot. Where is he?"

Robin looked down. (Or at least, she thought so. It was so hard to tell with that mask.) "We don't know," he admitted. "The Nightmare Child got him. Jinx too, last night."

"What?" Argent demanded, tears appearing in her eyes. Her best friend  _and_  her boyfriend? She sat back, trying not to actually cry in front of her leader. She swallowed the lump that was rapidly appearing in her throat.

Robin watched, and she was glad she couldn't see his eyes. The pity in them would probably make her lose it.

"Do you need anything?" he asked in a soft voice. She shook her head. "You shouldn't get up. I'll send Cyborg in." He got to his feet. He walked away. "We'll find them," he promised without looking back.

Somehow, she didn't doubt him.

* * *

Kid Flash's anger didn't cool down over the next three days. He patrolled the city constantly, searching every warehouse, every abandoned building, and anywhere else he thought the Nightmare Child could be hiding. He searched hospitals to see if Jinx had been checked in, he desperately attempted to locate a girl that matched the description that the HIVE had given him, and he even checked morgues, feeling terrified each time, afraid that he might find her there.

The Titans barely saw him. He would swing by to eat, about once every hour and a half exactly, before leaving again to continue the search. He refused to talk to anyone and wouldn't answer his communicator. When Bumblebee sent Más and Menos after him, they reported, much to their shock, that he was going faster than they could manage to keep up with for more than a few seconds.

The Titans didn't leave the Tower much. There really wasn't need. Any trouble that was cause in the city was cleaned up by Kid Flash before Robin could even utter "Titans, Go!" The villains would show up in front of the police station, wrapped in make-shift chains, most of them sprouting fresh bruises. Kid Flash had the same question for every villain. "Where is the Nightmare Child?" no one had answers for him.

Robin sat at his desk, head on his desk. It was odd, this feeling of depression that had hit the Tower. Who would have thought that removing Jinx, a former villain, from the mixture would have such an effect?

But Robin knew it was a bit more than that. It was Kid Flash too. No one had ever seen Kid Flash like that before, himself, Speedy, and Aqualad included. No jokes, no flirting, no smile, and he wasn't even eating junk food. It was like he didn't really exist anymore. It felt so weird, to see his oldest friend like that. It was wrong.

There was a cautious knock on the door. "Robin?" It was Starfire, of course. He lifted his head off the desk and turned to face the door.

"Come in Star," he called. It swung open, revealing her with a cup of coffee in her hands.

"I have brought you a cup of Cyborg's energy concoction," she said, handing it to him. "I am told it will help with the staying up late that you have been doing much of lately."

"It does. Thanks, Starfire," he said, sipping it. "Has Kid Flash shown up yet?"

"No. He is not due for another seven minutes," the Tameranian said, sitting down next to her boyfriend.

"I should try to talk to him again," Robin muttered.

"Perhaps you should. He is completely immersed in the pain and loneliness that he has felt ever since he lost Jinx," Starfire said. "He needs to be reminded that doing as he has been is not helping her."

Robin nodded. "You're right. But he won't talk to us."

"Perhaps you could ask him what information he has gathered on this child of nightmares and its friend? He would probably tell you what he has learned."

"Might work," he said, setting down the coffee. "We should probably get going."

At the strike of nine, Kid Flash was there. He opened the refrigerator and removed food, placed it on the counter, and started to chow down. Robin walked forward. He noticed what Wally was eating, and he felt like someone had punched him in the gut. The food that Kid Flash had piled in front of him was all healthy. Carrot sticks and celery, lettuce and tomatoes, apples and pears, and not a potato chip or candy bar in sight.  _So that's how bad it is,_  he thought grimly.

"Have you learned anything?" Robin asked, watching him wolf down his food.

"Another possible location on Elm Street, three additional potential powers for the unknown girl, and six possible names for said girl," the fastest boy alive rattled off.

"Let's hear them."

"Potential powers: mind reading, telepathy, and precognitive abilities. Possible names: Terror, Omega, Jezebel, Kathy, Haunter, and Silver."

"Any sign of them?" Robin said.

" _No_." The iciness in his voice surprised Robin.

"Kid Flash," he started, wondering what exactly he could say. "You've got to stop this."

The glare that he received was the coldest one he'd seen for years. "Why?"

"It's not healthy. You're obsessing, Kid. You've got to stop this before you hurt yourself."

"Oh, that's  _rich_  coming from you!" Kid Flash replied, slamming his hands on the countertop. "Red X, Robin,  _Red X_." The other Titans were gathering, whether as spectator or supporters was as yet unknown.

"And look how well  _that_  turned out!" Robin leaned forward. "This isn't helping. You're just hurting yourself."

Kid Flash was livid. "I'm not just leaving her while she's a prisoner of a psychopathic nightmare monster with the mind of a child! She needs me!"

"Right now, there is nothing you can do to help her!" Robin found his voice rising in volume. "This is  _not_  solving anything! You are  _not_  helping her by nearly killing yourself! When was the last time you slept?"

"It doesn't matter while she's in danger!" Kid Flash yelled.

"It  _does_  matter!"

"You don't get it, do you?" His blue eyes were practically poisonous to look at, but Robin was determined to stare him down. "You've been raised by Batman, after all. You don't get what it's like to commit to someone. I  _promised_  her I'd look after her! I  _promised_ her that I'd be there for her, that I'd protect her, that no matter  _what_  happened, we'd be  _together_  through everything. You just don't get it, do you? I  _love_  her Robin. I know that's an alien emotion to you, but believe it or not, not everyone is  _so_  paranoid that they won't let anyone in!"

"Now, wait a minute!" Robin was startled at the accusations.

"You just can't understand can you?" the voice of his best friend was taking on a mocking tone. "You don't understand how I feel, because you've never felt something even remotely like it!" Robin's hand curled into a fist, resisting the urge to punch Wally in the face as hard as he could. "Well, unlike you,  _I'm_ not ashamed of the girl I care about! I asked her to  _marry_  me, Robin, so you can—" There was a loud noise, and then suddenly, he slumped forward, unconscious. Bushido stood behind him, holding a frying pan in his hand.

He shrugged under Robin's surprised face. "He looked like he needed some sleep."

"We should put him in bed," Speedy said, grabbing Kid Flash's arms. "Aqualad, help me here."

"Not in his and Jinx's quarters though," said Aqualad, grabbing his feet. "The infirmary, perhaps?"

"Sounds fine," Robin managed. Once Kid Flash was gone, he took to the roof.

He sat with his feet dangling over the edge of the roof as he stared out at the city he had protected for five, almost six, years now. The familiar skyline stretched out before him, the sun shining brightly overhead. A beautiful day that was contrasting his mood.

"Robin?" Starfire sat down next to him. "Are you alright?"

"Not really," he said with a bitter laugh. "I did  _not_  expect that."

"He did not mean what he said. Those words were born out of bitterness and sorrow, not truth." She wrapped her arms around him. "I do not feel that you are ashamed of me. And I do believe what we feel for each other is just as powerful as what Kid Flash and Jinx feel." She kissed him softly. He curled his arms around her neck, feeling the cool metal of her collar and the softness of her hair, as he returned the kiss. He felt a lot better. Starfire was good at that.

* * *

Jinx regained awareness slowly. She tensed up. She didn't know where she was. She did a mental checklist, trying to figure out the situation without opening her eyes. She was propped up again a cement wall, hands pressed together by a single metal band above her head, with a power inhibitor strapped to her wrist. This was bad.

She opened her eyes. "You're awake!" she knew that voice. She turned her head, seeing the Herald in front of her. He looked tired. He was kept in place in an identical manner, although he looked like he'd been there a long time.

"Herald? Where are we?" She said, looking around. She spotted Kilowatt in the corner, wires leading out of him and Hot Spot in a tube of sorts, depowered.

"Don't know," he admitted. "I was unconscious."

"Great. How long was I out?" Jinx said, continuing her examination of the warehouse.

"Over two days," the boy admitted, shifting his position. "I think I've been here about a week, same with Kilowatt. Hot Spot arrived four days ago."

Jinx found no lock to pick, much to her annoyance. The metal band was welded into place instead, which informed her that they were not about to be moved any time soon. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Well this sucks," Jinx said with a sigh.

"You know any games?" the Herald asked.

"A few."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: I'm mean to Kid Flash, aren't I? Poor guy. Next chapter: Robin and Kid Flash having another discussion with a lot less yelling, Bumblebee does some investigating on how the Nightmare Child is getting through their security, Jericho and Kole act cute, and Starfire and Raven have a girl talk.**
> 
> **Review, pretty please?**
> 
> **The ever-hopeful,**
> 
> **Hinn-Raven**


	11. Storms and Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: I really have little excuse for this late update. It was ready a while ago, but I've been on vacation with very little internet access. I could check my email, and then I had to surrender the computer to my brother. So… sorry. I'm working on the next one already, I promise. Oh, and a quick note to the anonymous reviewer from last chapter, I suppose you could use Nightmare Child and Changer in your story, if you give me credit… I really couldn't stop you.**
> 
>  
> 
> **Disclaimer: Ownership of the Teen Titans continues to evade me.**

Kid Flash had his head against the cool window pane, staring out over the city. Robin walked up to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for what I said," Kid Flash whispered. His voice was hoarse from crying. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy, and he was so exhausted that it looked like he would fall over at the slightest gust of wind.

"It's alright. You were angry, tired, and you'd just lost the girl you love. I understand."

"Yeah," the speedster replied.

"Come on," Robin said, handing the fastest boy alive a small bag. "Change into these. We're going out."

"We?'

"Me, you, Speedy and Aqualad. You need some cheering up."

"You really think I can be cheered up?"

"Not really, but we might as well try."

Kid Flash forced a grin, and dashed off to find a bathroom. Robin walked off to consult Raven about teleporting into town.

* * *

Kole and Jericho were in what was quickly becoming their usual spot. Side by side on the couch, talking while Jericho played his guitar softly.

"That one was great, Jericho."

Jericho smiled at her, causing Kole to blush a little.

 _It was really easy_ , he signed.

"Well, it still sounded really good. How long have you played?"

 _Since I was about four_.

"That's a long time. How old are you now?"

 _Sixteen_.

"I'm fifteen. My birthday's next month, though."

Jericho smiled at her. Kole wondered if she should ask him the question she'd wanted to ask him for a few days now. A flash of guilt went through her mind. Here she was, having a great time with Jericho, while her friends suffered. She bit her lip.

Jericho signed something. She looked up. "Sorry, I missed that. What did you say?"

_Are you okay?_

"Yeah," she muttered, looking away.

 _Doesn't look like it,_  he signed, leaning forward.  _What's wrong?_

"I was just thinking about how our friends are captured by the Nightmare Child, while we're spending time together, having fun."

_What, you think they want us to be miserable people who just sit around and wait to be abducted? We might as well enjoy ourselves while we have the chance. Because I was talking with Beast Boy, and he says that he's calculated the odds of who's going next, and you and I were on the top of the list._

Kole laughed. "Beast Boy…"

_Yeah._

"How'd he figured it out?"

_Something to do with personalities, size, and humor factor._

"Of course," Kole nodded solemnly. "But anyways, Jericho, there was something I wanted to ask you."

_What is it?_

"Would you like to go to the movies or something with me?" she said quickly, afraid that if she hesitated she'd lose her nerve

Jericho blushed a little.  _I'd like that._

It was Kole's turn to blush again.

* * *

"Hey Sparky," Bumblebee said, grinning up at her boyfriend.

"Hey," he responded, looking up.

"Do you mind if I access the security tapes?" Bee asked. "I want to look into how that Nightmare Child is getting through security."

"I already checked," Cyborg grumbled. She flew up to peck her taller boyfriend on the cheek.

"Yes, but I have a few ideas that I'd like to check out."

He sighed. "Fine. Passcode's 422153. Use your communicator on the scanner."

"Thanks Sparky," she said, squeezing his hand.

She walked down the hallway. Things were going downhill quickly. With Jinx, a powerful member down for the count, along with Hot Spot, Kilowatt, and the Herald, things were looking serious. They had to be careful.

She punched the passcode in, and flashed her communicator over the scanner. The door creaked open, and she walked in.

The room was small, but covered completely in monitors. She glanced all over, noticing the various scenes that were playing out all around her. Jericho and Kole were talking in the common area, Thunder and Lightning doing target practice, and Bushido was preparing lunch. She sat down in the swivel chair, and pulled out the keyboard. This room was almost identical to the one that they had in the Titans East Tower. She'd be able to work this.

She quickly typed in a command and the monitor directly in front of her cut away from Starfire having a solemn discussion with Red Star to show her a regular computer screen. She grabbed the mouse next to her, and selected "History." She selected the date of Kilowatt and the Herald's disappearance. The monitor offered her a selection of screens to choose from (security protocol required that only one monitor could be in not-present time). She selected the hallway were the two Titans had disappeared. She set the time-frame for after 8:30, when the Herald and Aqualad had last talked, and started watching in a sped up fashion.

Bee watched as the hallway zoomed before her eyes. Several Titans walked by, including Kilowatt on his way to bed. When the monitors showed the time as 11:36, Kilowatt walked by again. Argent leaned forward, and quickly typed in a command. She followed the electric Titan down the hallway. Kilowatt turned suddenly, and the whole thing went black.

Bee quickly pressed a few buttons, attempting to revive the screen. "Footage unavailable." The screen read.

"But how could they have stopped the signal?" Bee whispered. "That doesn't make any sense."

Hot Spot hadn't been in the Tower, but Jinx on the other hand… Quickly, Bee selected the camera directly outside Jinx and KF's shared quarters. There were no cameras  _in_  the bedrooms, for obvious reasons.

She watched carefully. At around 3:56 AM the night of her disappearance, Jinx appeared on the monitors. She was clearly unconscious, and being dragged by an invisible force.

"Invisible, huh?" Bee whispered. "Let's see what we can do about that." She quickly pressed a few keys, switching it to infrared. Sure enough, there was something there, something very cold and that wasn't shaped even vaguely like a human. More like a blob. A blue blob.

Bee frowned at it. "Must be the Nightmare Child."

She quickly returned the screen to normal, and switched all monitors to infrared. She scanned all of the monitors, searching for that cold spot.

"There," she whispered, spotting it and a human shaped blob next to it, "Now where would that be…"

As it happens, it was right outside the door. She turned around, and the door opened.

"Hello." It was the "Creepy Girl" as the HIVE had dubbed her. She fit the description exactly, down to the sunglasses.

Bumblebee got to her feet, taking out her stingers. She spotted the Nightmare Child in the background, smiling at her as the door slammed shut.

"I suppose you're the one who kidnapped my friends," Bee said, ready for a fight.

"Actually, that was Nightmare. I usually don't get my hands dirty. But I want to send a message, and when Nightmare fights, it's over too quickly."

"Well, you are going down  _now_ ," she said, attacking. She fired her stingers, aiming for the brunette. Gracefully, the other girl leapt over them, landing in front of Bee. The girl aimed a kick at Bee's head, which she dodged. Her sneaker collided with one of the monitors, shattering it.

"Who are you?" Bee demanded, firing her stingers again.

"Changer," the other girl replied, throwing the chair at Bee. Bee leapt to the side as the swivel chair smashed into several more monitors, sending shards of glass in all directions.

Bee got to her feet and charged at the girl, aiming a punch for Changer's face.

Changer leaned backwards in order to minimize the damage of the blow, and swiped Bumblebee's feet out from under her, sending her to the floor hard. Bee raised her hands above her, firing her stingers, forcing the other girl to retreat. She flew to her feet, sending another round of stingers at the brunette.

Changer somersaulted away from the blasts, landing nimbly on the chair she had thrown earlier. She smirked at her. "So, how long are you going to take before you give up?"

"My friends will be here soon enough," Bee said confidently, charging her.

"You think so?" Changer asked sweetly. "Well, I suppose you could be right. It's not like the Titans are all on the other side of the Tower then. And it's not like Nightmare would attack anyone who  _did_  come in this direction or anything of the sort."

Bee froze. She was alone then, without backup.

"And with you gone, the Titans East doesn't have a leader, the entire network just lost their second-in-command, and we have yet another lonely boyfriend. Kid Flash worked out so much better then I hoped, you know. I thought we'd get a bit of angst, maybe some tears, but that raw anger? Never expected that. He's full of surprises, that one." The other girl didn't move at all during her little speech.

"Why'd you take Jinx in the first place?" Bee demanded.

"Stupid girl ruined my plan. You guys were about to tear little Jericho apart. But  _no_. She had to be  _rational_.  _Coolheaded. Logical._  It set back my plans. You have  _any_  idea how angry Slade would be if you heroes damaged poor little Joey? So now, instead of him having a vendetta against you lot, I had to arrange for him to go off in search of Jericho's big brother so he wouldn't kill  _me_  for hurting his little boy! Do you have any idea how hard it is to plant a false lead in Africa, let alone arrange for it to reach him?" She did not look happy. "I'm bored now."

She leapt through the air, and Bee raised her stingers to fire again as she took to the air. Changer grabbed at Bee's foot, trying to weigh her down back to earth. Bumblebee swung her foot, sending Changer flying into several monitors, where she slumped, coated in broken glass, unconscious.

Bee landed not far from the other girl. She scrambled for her communicators. "Robin, I need backup in the monitor room. I've found her—" The other girl grabbed the communicator out of her hands, and stepped on it deliberately. Bee's eyes widened as she saw the communicator splinter into pieces under the girl's weight. The other girl smirked.

"Message delivered," she whispered, slamming her fist against Bee's temple. She collapsed, unconscious.

* * *

Kid Flash, Speedy, Aqualad and Robin all sat around a table in a sushi restraint in Jump City, all in civvies.

The silence was awkward, to say the least. They couldn't think of anything to talk about. Hero business was off limits, girls were taboo, and only Kid Flash went to school.

"What do normal people talk about then?" Speedy demanded, clearly annoyed.

"…football?" Aqualad supplied, looking uncertain.

"…the weather?" Robin said, also a bit unsure.

"School stuff," Kid Flash corrected. "Seriously, do you guys never hang out with people outside your teams?"

They all exchanged glances. "Batman?" offered Robin in a low voice. Aqualad cuffed him over the head. "Ow!"

"No hero names, remember? Civilian names only. And I thought you hadn't seen Bruce since you threw that hissy fit and went to Jump."

"I did  _not_  throw a hissy fit."

"Really? Cause I heard otherwise," Kid Flash said with a grin.

"I believe the word Alfred used was  _tantrum_ ," Speedy corrected.

"Oh right. Sorry Dick. I thought you hadn't seen Bruce since you threw that  _tantrum_  and moved to Jump."

Robin sighed and leaned on his hand. "What about you, Garth? You've been seeing anyone around?"

"Well, Arthur comes to visit every now and then," the Atlantean said slowly. "Sometimes I go down to Atlantis to talk to Tula and Kaldur."

"Who?" the speedster said. "And you meant Atlanta, didn't you?"

"Yes, thank you. Tula and Kaldur are my friends from my old school."

"Ah." Kid Flash looked up. "I want to see what's taking them so long." He got to his feet and walked over to the counter.

"So Tula's your girlfriend, right?" Speedy asked Aqualad quietly as soon as their friend was out of earshot.

"Wait a minute. You have a girlfriend?" Robin said, shocked.

"Yes and yes." The Atlantean looked miffed. "What's the matter Dick? Think I can't have a girlfriend?"

"Just unexpected that's all," the Boy Wonder assured him. "What's next, Roy with a girlfriend?"

"For your information, I  _do_  have one," the archer informed him in his haughtiest tone.

Both of them stared at him. "…you're kidding right?" Aqualad asked.

"I'm not kidding! Her name's Jade."

"He's making this up," Aqualad said to Robin seriously.

"Really? I just thought he'd finally lost it," Robin responded, equally serious.

"Hey!" Speedy said, flushing. "I am not making this up, and I have  _not_  lost it!"

"Then do tell why you have not informed us of this miracle beforehand," Aqualad said with a grin.

" _Miracle?_ " Speedy demanded, his voice cracking. He recovered quickly. "Because I'm dating her out of—school," He amended quickly, noticing the attention his indignant cry had brought. "If I told you guys, Bee would give her the third degree, and I don't want to scare her off! We've only been on three dates so far."

"So what's she like?" Robin said innocently.

"Tall as me, hot, funny, dark hair, Asian features, likes high heels, dislikes handholding, has a black belt, is a freshmen in college, and loves rock and roll."

"Nice one Roy!" said Kid Flash, slipping into his seat, followed by a waitress who was carrying a tray full of sushi.

"Wally! Uh…" Speedy looked sheepish.

"Bad break up?" the waitress asked, setting down the tray.

"The worst," Robin assured her.

She winced, and left.

"It's fine guys, really." Kid Flash tucked into his sushi. "Romance talk is not going to send me ballistic again, I promise."

They exchanged glances, and started eating. Finally, Speedy had to ask. "Hey Wally. You know when you were pissed at Dick, and were yelling at him?"

"I vaguely remember," responded the speedster with a mouthful of tuna.

"Did you mean what you said?" the archer asked.

"What bit?"

"About asking her to… you know…"

"Marry me?"

"Yeah."

"Yes. I did."

"Wow." Speedy leaned over and placed a hand on Kid Flash's shoulder. "We'll find her."

He grinned tiredly, but it was a smile nonetheless. "I know."

Their communicators all went off at that moment. Bumblebee was there, her hair coming out of its buns in all directions and a few thin cuts going down her face. "Robin, I need backup in the monitor room. I've found her—" The connection was abruptly cut off. They were all on their feet in an instant.

Robin dashed over to the counter to pay the tab while the others dashed off. Kid Flash sped around the corner, changing into his spandex, and then ran back to the Tower faster than the speed of sound.

Aqualad quickly followed suit, changing outfits and then running towards the harbor. Speedy stayed back after changing, waiting for the Boy Wonder. Sure enough, a few seconds later Robin turned the corner, already with a mask on and a utility belt attached to his waist. Speedy gestured over his shoulder to the alley in which the other three boys had already changed, and Robin responded by merely removing his shirt, revealing his traditional outfit underneath. He raised a hand to his hair, rearranging it to resemble his normal hairdo.

"Man, you are overly prepared," Speedy commented, drawing his bow. "Let's go."

The two powerless former sidekicks dashed from rooftop to rooftop until they arrived at the harbor, where Robin located the storage shed that contained the speedboat that was stashed there for occasions like this. He leapt into the driver's seat, while Speedy vaulted into the shotgun position. The two of them zoomed over the water until they arrived at the Tower.

But they were still too late.

* * *

Starfire hadn't meant to doze off, really. But she'd stayed up very late the night before, talking with Robin, and the book that Raven had leant her was, in all honesty, a bit dull. So she had fallen asleep.

A part of her mind knew that this was merely a dream. But that bit was small and mainly ignored as she stared in horror at the screen in front of her.

"Koriand'r!" It was Galfore. "Tamaran needs you! The Citadel are attacking us!"

Starfire felt cold. Her people needed her. She knew her duty as Empress. She had to go defend them. She had to leave her team. She turned around, seeing all of her friends behind her. Their faces were masks of horror.

"I…I must go," Starfire said softly, unable to meet Robin's eyes.

"But… we need you," whispered Beast Boy. "You can't leave!"

"I must," Starfire replied.

"Starfire, no!" Robin grabbed her arm. "Starfire you can't!"

"My loyalty is to my people," she whispered, tears breaking free.

"What about us?" Robin said. "What about the Titans?"

"My people need me," she said, pulling out of his grip.

She raced for the rooftop. "Starfire!" Robin was chasing after her. She ran faster. "Starfire!"

She leapt off the roof, flying to her home. The time passed quickly as she returned to her home. "Galfore!" she declared. "I have returned!"

"Thank X'Hal!" her mentor said, pulling her into a tight embrace. "You will lead us into battle, Empress. And with you at the head of our people, we shall be victorious!"

Starfire nodded, trying to not think about the Titans that she had left behind.

The battle was bloody and vicious. Starfire watched as her childhood companions fell around her, but she survived. They were, indeed, victorious. The people mourned and celebrated in the traditional ceremonies. As Empress, she presided over these events, and then, once again, returned the crown to Galfore.

Eagerly, she returned to Earth, were she prepared a long apology for her friends.

She landed outside the doors, and knocked eagerly. "Robin! Raven! Beast Boy! Cyborg! I have returned!"

There was no response. Worried, she quickly pried open the door, and dashed inside. The Tower was dark, and she saw nothing. She ran into the Ops. Center, where she was greeted by a horrible sight.

There, on the floor, was Cyborg, his electronic eye not glowing, battered, bleeding and bruised. His torso had been ripped open, revealing wires, gears and computer chips. Starfire spotted Cyborg's power core across the room, broken in two. She ran over to him, and grabbed her unofficial brother in her arms. He was cold to the touch. Tears fell for her fallen friend. She scrambled to her feet, wondering why he was lying there, uncared for.

Beast Boy was on the couch with heavy bruising, as if he had been beaten within an inch of his life. His throat had been cut, soaking the couch cushions with his blood. Starfire dashed to her dear friend, so small in death, to find that his heart no longer beat, and his breath was no more.

"Robin? Raven?" she called out for her missing lover and friend.

She made a dash for Robin's room, only making it partway up the stairs before she found Robin when she slipped on the carpet, made slippery by his blood. Crying out in shock and pain, she crawled over to where her beloved lay. He was sprawled on the carpet, arms and legs bent in directions and angles that Starfire knew human limbs were not supposed to go. He had horrid slash marks up and down his torso, soaking his outfit in his own blood. His face had been cut as well, forming the words "Little Birdie" on his forehead and cheeks. She spotted bruise marks around his throat, and then noticed the stab wound right above the area where the human heart was located. She pulled Robin to her chest and sobbed.

She was not sure how long she remained there, when she heard a voice. "It's your fault you know."

"Ra-Raven?" she managed, looking up through her tears.

Sure enough, the half demon stood in front of her. She had her hood pulled up, staring at her with accusing purple eyes that Starfire could see even in this dark staircase.

"It's your fault they're dead," Raven said flatly. She pulled down her hood, revealing tear trails on her dirty face. "If you had been here, they would have lived. You claimed to be loyal to your people, but you weren't loyal to your family."

Starfire looked down at Robin's dead form, and had to agree. Everything faded.

Robin stood in front of her, in his apprentice uniform once again. His face cold and uncaring, he held the blaster out towards her.

"Starfire! Starfire, wake up!" Starfire opened her eyes with a cry of surprise, looking into Raven.

"Raven?" she asked, shocked.

"Starfire, look at me." Raven stared into Starfire's eyes, biting her lip. "No sign of overshadowing," Raven muttered to herself.

"I am confused. What is going on?"

"You just had a dream influenced by the Nightmare Child," Raven replied. "Do you remember what happened?"

Starfire saw Robin's broken body in her mind's eye. "Far too well."

Raven ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't know if you would have if I hadn't woken you up. Has this happened at all the last few weeks? Horrible nightmares of any sort?"

Starfire thought back. "No."

Raven looked thoughtful, and got to her feet.

"Raven? How did you know that the Nightmare Child was influencing my dreams?"

"I'm an empath, Starfire. You felt just like Argent did when she was standing to close to that thing."

Starfire looked thoughtful. "But why would the Nightmare Child give me bad dreams?"

"I don't know," Raven admitted. "What did you see, exactly?"

"In my nightmare, I was forced to leave the Titans for a period of time," Starfire began, uncertain of how much she should tell her best friend. "And when I returned, I discovered that I had failed as a teammate, as a friend, and as a lorthr'an.

"Lothran?"

"Lorthr'an," Starfire corrected. "In my culture this is the most important of vows. Two warriors who are emotionally connected to each other take it before battles, swearing to protect each other, fight beside each other, and if the other falls, to be present so that one might avenge the other. The vow lasts past death, and is considered the greatest sign of friendship and love between people. My parents took this vow, and I took it with Robin."

"Is it always done romantically?"

"Not at all! Siblings often take it, as do dear friends and comrades. However, with the royal family, yes, it is always romantically taken. It is usually coupled with the royal marriage ceremony."

Raven sat down next to her. "What happens if you break it?"

"That is considered the most grave of all crimes, even worse than treason, or cowardice in battle. One is banished from Tameran and never permitted to return, not even after death. One may never again look one of our warriors in the eye, and they may never speak our language again. The high priestess of X'Hal removes their ability to do so."

Raven's eyebrow went up. "Sounds very harsh."

Starfire shrugged her shoulders. "That is why not many break that vow. Those who do not believe that they would be able to keep it do not take it. It is not necessary."

Raven nodded thoughtfully. "Does Robin know the implications of the vow?"

"Yes, I made sure to inform him of it beforehand. If one is tricked or forced into the vow, the vow is not valid."

Raven smiled at her friend. "What was his face like when you told him about this?"

Starfire opened her mouth to answer, when the communicators went off. They flipped it open, seeing Bumblebee there. "Robin, I need backup in the monitor room. I've found her—"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Sometimes it's a bit disturbing what images my brain can produce if it wants to write one of these nightmare things. I was writing this in a car, I looked back at what I just wrote, and then I decided that the other nightmare I was writing wouldn't go to this chapter. It's coming up, I assure you though. Any guesses on whose it is?**
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> **Hinn-Raven**


	12. Caverns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Here you go! Next chapter. I hope you enjoy it. It's a bit of a filler chapter, just a bit. I hope you enjoy it anyway. I realized upon glancing over the previous chapters that I had all but abandoned Beast Boy and Raven's part in this story.**

Robin examined the crime scene with a critical eye. Many of the monitors had been smashed into tiny pieces, and the single chair in the room was overturned. Beast Boy was in bloodhound form, searching for a scent, while Speedy and Aqualad aided Robin in searching for clues. Robin had specifically asked most of the Titans to remain outside while he, the Titans East, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Argent examined the scene. Bumblebee's stingers lay on the floor, and nearby there was some blood. Robin knelt to examine it. "Cyborg, can you analyze this? I need to know if it's Bumblebee's or not."

Mutely, Cyborg knelt down to scan it. Robin, acting on impulse, reached out and touched his friend's shoulder. "We'll find her," he said.

Cyborg nodded, not quite meeting Robin's masked eyes, and then returned his attention to the blood that was quickly soaking into the carpet. Robin stood up. "No one was here when you arrived?" he asked Starfire and Raven, who stood at the doorway. They had been the Titans who'd responded to the distress call first.

"No one," Raven said, eyes on Cyborg. "There wasn't any sign of them."

Robin sighed, thinking.

"Why was there a fight?" Speedy was the one who asked the question. The archer had his bow still clutched tightly in his hands as Más and Menos held onto both of his legs tightly, sobbing something softly in Spanish.

"What?" Robin's head rotated, staring at his friend.

"When they took Jinx, Kilowatt and the Herald, there wasn't any sign of a fight. We had a broken coffee mug, that was it. We had an explosion for Hot Spot, but that was it. Here there clearly was a struggle. When Bee called, she'd been fighting. She might have even been winning for a while, if that call she sent was anything to go by."

"I don't know…" Robin muttered, starting to pace. "That's a good point though. Why would they do this?"

"Well, we know it's not the Nightmare Child this time," Argent said, lips pulled into a tight line, arms crossed as she scanned the room from the doorway.

"What makes you say that?" Robin said, looking up from his pacing, which was already starting to quicken.

"There was a fight. I got near the Nightmare Child for just a few seconds, and remember what happened to me? There's almost no chance that Bee'd be able to fight that thing."

"So, you think this was Creepy Girl herself?" Kid Flash looked eager, upset, and surprised all at the same time.

"It must be," Robin muttered to himself. "It makes the most sense, but why would she come after Bumblebee herself?"

"To send a message?" Speedy offered, looking around.

"Bumblebee was looking into the security footage around the disappearances," offered Aqualad. "Maybe she figured something out, and Creepy Girl had to take care of it herself?"

"Maybe…" Robin muttered, continuing his pacing.

"Robin, can you stop that?" Beast Boy demanded, turning back into human form. "You're messing up the scent, spreading the air around. It's hard enough, with Bee racing back in forth during their fight, but if I can't concentrate…" he left it hanging as he turned back into a bloodhound to keep searching.

Robin stopped his pacing, but kept thinking.

"Raven, is Cyborg going to be okay?" Starfire asked her friend as softly as she could manage.

"I think so. He's different from Kid Flash. Kid Flash let his rage build up, and it all exploded over Jinx. Cyborg's in shock now. He just doesn't fully believe that Bee's gone at the moment. When he does though…"

Beast Boy made his way towards them, nose to the floor as he followed the scent of Bumblebee and her attacker towards the hallway. Suddenly he howled loudly and transformed back into human form, clutching his nose, still crying out in pain.

"Beast Boy!" Raven said, dashing forward. "Beast Boy! What's wrong?" Fear filled her mind, despite her best attempts to suppress it. She heard a light bulb explode in the hallway.

Beast Boy was panting, breathing through his mouth only as he clutched his sensitive nose tightly. "Some sort of scent masking chemical," he managed, his voice sounding odd. "It burns my nose."

Raven felt her heart rate return to normal and started mentally berating herself for losing control of her emotions, even if it just was for a moment. Fear was a dangerous emotion for her and she knew it.

"So you can't follow it?" Robin asked, looking down on them, biting his lip.

"No," Beast Boy said, slowly uncovering his nose. "And it might be a while before I go bloodhound again, I'll tell you that. Whoever did that knew what they were doing. It's not strong enough for a human to smell, but it's just the right thing to throw off a bloodhound."

"Can you restart in the hallway, or did they do the whole thing?"

"I'll check," Beast Boy offered reluctantly.

"Don't," Raven said. "Can Cyborg scan the chemical here and check the hallway for it?"

Beast Boy looked a bit relieved. "If he could…" He glanced over at Cyborg, who had just stood up.

"I can," the metal man said, not looking at anyone. "It will be simple."

"Cyborg…" Beast Boy started.

"I'm fine." He stepped forward, and started scanning the scent masking formula.

"Cyborg," Beast Boy said again, clearly concerned by his friend's lack of emotion.

"I'm  _fine_ , Beast Boy," Cyborg said, walking out into the hallway to check if the hallways had been doused in the chemical. "The entire hallway has been filled with the chemical. The Nightmare Child probably did this while the other one fought Bee." There was a definite hint of bitterness in his voice as he mentioned the two characters that had kidnapped his girlfriend.

"And the blood?"

"Not real. It's fake," Cyborg said flatly.

"She probably used it to get Bumblebee off her guard," Speedy said, gesturing to a place where someone had clearly been smashed into several monitors.

"Who could be smashed into those things and not bleed at all?" Robin said, skeptical.

"The same person who could take Bee from a room and disappear in the thirty seconds it took for Starfire and Raven to get here," Aqualad said simply.

* * *

"You going to be alright?" Beast Boy asked, looking at his best friend.

"I don't know," Cyborg said, sitting down on his power station. "It's like… I just can't accept that she's gone. I keep expecting her to just show up any second now, saying something funny. But then I know she won't, and I just kind of freeze up for a bit."

Beast Boy touched his friend's shoulder. "D'you need anything?"

Cyborg gave a hollow laugh. "Proof that she's still alive would be nice."

"Hey, don't worry. There's no reason that they would kill them," Beast Boy said, forcing a comforting smile.

"No reason they wouldn't, either." There wasn't anything Beast Boy could think of to say to that. Cyborg reached over and started pressing a few buttons. "I'm going to charge for a bit. Get away from all this."

Beast Boy nodded and backed away, thankful that his friend would be able to escape everything for a few hours, without having to call up Bushido and the frying pan to help him. "Good—" He paused, and corrected himself. "Sleep well Cy."

"Thanks BB." The metal man slipped into charging mode.

* * *

"Are you sure we should still be doing this?" Raven asked as Beast Boy pulled her along out of the Tower. "I mean, we're on red alert, and we're supposed to stick together to prevent getting attacked…"

"We need to keep our minds of this stuff," Beast Boy said, smiling at his girlfriend. "If we're preoccupied worrying about everyone every minute of the day, we won't be able to fight at all."

"I suppose…" Raven said as Beast Boy opened the door.

"And besides," Beast Boy said with a grin. "I'm with you. I'm not worried."

Raven felt herself blushing at the compliment. "You still haven't told me where we're going," she reminded him as they stood on the beach that surrounded Titans Tower.

"It's a secret," Beast Boy said, walking over towards the water. "Can you follow me?"

"I think so…" Raven said, unsure of what he was talking about.

"Do you swim well, or would you rather follow me in a bubble thing?" he asked, climbing a rock. She followed him, feeling the heaviness of the picnic basket on her arm.

"How far are we talking?" she asked.

Beast Boy shrugged. "Not far."

"I think I'll try the 'bubble thing,'" she said, not trusting Beast Boy's idea of "not far."

He grinned at her, and jumped off the rock in a perfect dive. Raven froze for a second as she watched him transform into a green bottlenose dolphin just millimeters before he hit the water. He surfaced quickly to look at her, making a series of clicks and whistles that she interpreted as "Come on!" She smiled to herself before she wrapped herself in an orb of her energy and propelled herself into the water, following her boyfriend.

The water around the Tower was almost perfectly clean (a side effect of Aqualad going down there nearly every day picking up garbage and using his magic to clear the water itself.) Raven was a bit surprised by how many fish were surrounding the island, although they were parting as Beast Boy swam through them. Raven extended her hand, and the orb that she was contained in sped up as she followed the trail of bubbles that Beast Boy had left in his wake.

Beast Boy was down about halfway to the seafloor, where upon he turned right into the island. Raven followed, wondering where they were going. They were in a long, twisty passage that was still completely submerged in water. Suddenly, Beast Boy wasn't there anymore. She looked around for a moment, confused as to where he'd gone, before she discovered the bubble trail went straight up. Raven flipped her hand around so that her palm faced her, and moved it upwards, commanding the orb of her energy into the air.

She was in a cavern, the underwater passage from which she had just emerged was visible only through a round pool in the ground, and Beast Boy stood in front of it, now human, grinning at her expectedly. She dissolved the sphere around her before floating over to where Beast Boy stood, landing gently.

Beast Boy's grin widened as he gestured around him. "Do you like it?" He took the basket from her and started setting up while Raven had a good look around.

The cave wasn't necessarily large, being about the size of the Ops. Centre in the Tower, but it was impressive all the same. Stalagmites and stalactites were all over, sometimes joining in the middle to create natural pillars. The tall ceiling was domed, and along with the echo it created the feeling that they were in some sort of natural cathedral. A small hole at the very top seemed to be letting sunlight in, enough to keep most of the cave lit, although there were plenty of shadowy spots. The whole place felt peaceful.

Raven turned back to Beast Boy. "I do. It's nice."

Beast Boy grinned at her as he unloaded the food from the basket. "Glad to hear it!"

"When did you find this place?" she said, levitating the rest of the food and eating utensils out of the baskets to set up.

"About three years ago," Beast Boy said, sitting down and gesturing for her to sit next to him. "I was a bit upset, so I figured some swimming might help clear my head, and I found the tunnel."

Raven smiled at him and started serving out the salad while Beast Boy started removing peanut butter sandwiches from the plastic bags.

The meal was vegetarian, for Beast Boy's sake, but it also lacked tofu, so that Raven didn't have to eat it. The two of them ate in peaceful silence, spending most of the time just taking pleasure in the other's company. After they were done, Raven levitated everything back into the basket, with the exception of the blanket that they were sitting on. She felt Beast Boy take her hand, and looked at him, startled. He smiled at her, and she relaxed. Raven paused, gathering her courage, and put her head on his shoulder. He let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her, just keeping her there. Raven closed her eyes.

This was nice, Raven thought. It really was. She felt like she could have stayed there for ages, just sitting there like that with Beast Boy, with his arm around her.

"You know, I've never shown this place to anyone before," Beast Boy said, breaking the quiet.

"Really?" she asked, surprised. "Never?"

"Never," he repeated.

Raven smiled to herself. "I guess I really am special," she joked.

"Of course you are," Beast Boy responded, tightening his grip on her shoulder just a little. "You're more than special Rae, you're amazing." She blushed.

They resumed their comfortable silence for a while, before Raven sighed. "We probably should go back. The others will be wondering where we are."

"Really? What time is it?" Beast Boy checked his communicator. "Oh. Yeah, we probably should go."

Raven moved out from under Beast Boy's arm. "We should come back here some time."

"Sure thing!" Beast Boy said, smiling at her as he grabbed her hands. They just sat there, staring into each other's brightly colored eyes for a few moments, before Beast Boy leaned forward. "Do you…"

"Yes," Raven breathed, steadying her emotions. And then Beast Boy kissed her.

Raven hadn't read a lot of romance books. When she did, it was usually as a trade-off with Starfire. But she had read enough to know a bit about kisses. This was different. It wasn't fierce, it wasn't passionate, it was… sweet. Sweet and simple.

They broke apart after only a few seconds, both of them blushing a little. "We probably should go," Beast Boy said, standing up. He held out his hand to Raven, who rolled her eyes at him and floated to her feet using her powers.

Beast Boy packed up the blanket and put it in the basket, which Raven took on her arm. Beast Boy then grinned at her. "Race you to the top, Raven!" And he then leapt into the water, transforming once again into a dolphin. Raven rolled her eyes again and wrapped herself in another sphere of her energy.

* * *

Cyborg didn't dream. He actually couldn't anymore. The first few weeks after the accident the nightmares had been so bad, he'd written a computer program that blocked all dreams. Good and bad, he hadn't had a single dream for six years.

So how could he be having one now?

Victor glanced out the window. The familiar route on the way home to his neighborhood flashed by. Classical music played in the background as the fifteen year old Victor Stone drove home with his mother.

"I'm just glad that your father agreed to make dinner tonight," Eleanor Stone said, smiling over at her son.

"Great. Leftover spaghetti," he said jokingly, rolling his eyes.

Eleanor laughed.

Then everything went wrong. Victor noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A car, driving too fast, following them too close for comfort. "Mom?"

She glanced in her rearview mirror, frowning. "What are they thinking?"

"Dunno. Maybe you should pull over," he said. He felt nervous somehow, as if something bad was going to happen. "I think they might be drunk."

"Maybe you're right," she said, starting to pull over.

Then everything  _did_  go wrong. The other car sped up suddenly, slamming into the rear of theirs. His mother yells out—in pain or in shock he didn't know—and everything went black.

What felt like seconds later, although it was probably an hour or so later, he was in a room, with something over his eyes. "He's waking up," a familiar voice said.  _Dad_. A rush of calm went through his system. He'd be alright now. Doctor Silas Stone was here.

"Dad?" he said. "Where's Mom?"

There was a hesitation. "She… she, didn't make it Vic." The sadness was obvious in his father's voice. Victor felt like someone had stabbed him. His breath didn't come, his chest felt heavy, his heart felt like it was struggling to pound.

"What?" It couldn't be. Mom couldn't be gone. She was always  _there_. She had to be there. Next to Dad, holding his hand, smiling. Ready to make everything alright.

"I'm sorry son. I had to…" His father pulled back the bandaging from Victor's eyes, revealing the world. And he knew immediately that something was wrong. His vision was off. One of his eyes looked too clear, too focused. Then he noticed the readout to the left side. His hand flew to his eye. It was smooth, metallic to the touch. He was repulsed.

"What did you do?" he screamed at his father. Then he looked at his hands. The hands of a football player, now coated in metal. Bile filled his throat.

"I had no choice. You would have died," he heard his father say, while he continued to examine the damage. His legs, his torso, his head... what was he now?

"You should have let me," he growled.

"How pathetic," Nightmare Child mocked, looking on. He was Cyborg now, as he should be. He was in the Tower, looking on over himself as he recharged. "That's your worst memory?"

"That car crash cost me everything," he snarled, glaring at it.

"Everything," it mocked, laughing a horrible laugh. "Your friends have watched parents die and have been betrayed by those closest to them. And you think it's so tough having a few robotic parts."

He lunged at it, but it wasn't there anymore. The laughter filled the room, echoing off every bit of his tech. He was furious.

"Where are you?" he demanded.

A giggle floated back to him. He spun on his heel, snarling.

Suddenly, his arm felt heavy. With effort, he pulled it up so he could see it. Cold shock filled him. The metal of his hand was reaching upwards, taking over the rest of his human flesh. He screamed, desperately trying to figure out how to stop it. He watched in horror as the metal traveled up his arm, and then over his torso for his other arm. Cyborg felt his humanity slipping away. He felt what few internal organs that were still organic be pushed aside, replaced by motors and computers. He felt nothing.

He screamed, and the dream faded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Cyborg's dream didn't involve romantic failures for two reasons. One being that I wanted to focus more on his accident and his fear about his humanity than shipping subplots, and the other is that I only have so many romantic fears that I can play with, and some of them are being saved for later. There's going to be another nightmare for almost every chapter from now on… so I don't want to run out of ideas before I get to the end.**
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> **Hinn-Raven**


	13. Silence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Well, here you go! We're getting very close to the end now. I really hope you enjoy!**
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> **Reviews are wonderful things that make me want to sit down and type!**
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> **Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. How often am I going to have to say this?**

Changer sat at her desk, exhaustion filling her. It was a struggle to keep her eyes open as she worked on another diagram. Another trap.

As she watched the Titans, and kept learning about them, her sense of alarm increased. It would not be as simple as she had planned. There were too many cool heads in that Tower to counteract the ones who acted first, thought later. Sure, she'd been whittling them down, but there were still  _so_  many.

She glanced at the list beside her. Robin, Raven, Jinx, Bumblebee, Bushido, Red Star, Aqualad, Jericho, the Herald. Several of these were crossed out, or had stars by them. A small smile made its way to her lips. She would manage.

The Titans were floundering. They couldn't track her down, and they had no idea of who she was or what she could do. She was picking them off, disabling them of leaders, friends, and powerful teammates all at once. The Titans East were in disarray without their leader. Kid Flash (who, if properly motivated, could be a game changer, due to his unpredictable nature) was now focused on one thing—saving Jinx. Argent would be distracted, and maybe even angry. If she lost her temper, it would be a simple thing for Changer to manipulate her to cause more destruction to the Titans than to Changer herself.

She looked at the time. It was late. Far too late. She put the finishing touch on one of her diagrams and stood up. "Nightmare, watch them," she commanded, gesturing to the Titans behind her. Unlike her, the Nightmare Child needed no sleep.

She walked into the small door that led to what  _might_  be called her bedroom, but she doubted it. All it contained was a bed and a bathroom. No marks of a home at all.

She walked into the bathroom and looked at the mirror above the sink. She glared at the image of herself. She was aging. Silver hair now streaked her brown. Wrinkles were starting to appear. No longer did she look even vaguely like a teenager, as she had not even a week ago. The fight with Bumblebee had cost her more than she thought.

On the bright side though, the Titans now probably wouldn't recognize her.

Although Changer was nowhere near as old as the Nightmare Child, she was still very old. A bit over three hundred, if one wanted to be precise.

It had been the panic of the Witch Hunts that had been the catalyst. Someone with serious magical ability had panicked, and believed that if all sources of  _dark_  magic were destroyed, those who practiced good magic or light magic or not-evil magic would be left in peace. So seven teenagers had been selected, and imbued with the power that would allow them to destroy the dark demons.

There had been seven of them. Changer was the youngest. And the strongest. It had been  _her_  who realized that they could drain the demons of their magic and channel it themselves. Use it to keep them young, heal their wounds, and increase their abilities. The others had followed suit, and they wandered all over, hunting down the dark creatures. Years passed, centuries even, and magic passed into the realm of make-believe. Non-dark magic practitioners went into hiding, and Changer and her friends hunted down the dark ones.

But after they had killed the last demon on Earth, back in the 1950s, there had been problems. Four of them wanted to stop, settle down, and die. But three of them, Changer included, had refused. There were other creatures that they could hunt, they argued. Dark witches, half demons, and others like them. There had been a fight. One of the four who wished to stop died, and Changer had noticed that they could drain the energy off of each other, just like the demons. The other three dissenters had not lasted long. And then the other three had turned on each other. Changer was the only one left standing in the end, after a week of fighting. But the energy that she had gained from them was dying out. She needed more, if she was to survive. And a child of Trigon ought to be enough to keep her alive for at least another century.

* * *

Robin felt Starfire snuggle closer to him, giggling as the cliché romance story unfolded before them. He and Starfire didn't get much time alone these days. People disappearing tended to cut down on romance time. Although that didn't seem to have been stopping a lot of Titans in the past few days. A night watching a movie together had seemed like a great idea.

He laughed at one of the jokes that the guy's best friend made as the movie started to draw to a close, while Starfire uttered a squeal as the couple started acting what Starfire would describe as "wonderfully adorable and containing much cuteness!"

The credits started rolling up the screen, the required pop song started, and Starfire turned towards him, her eyes shining as she beamed at him. "Was that not wonderful Robin?"

"It sure was, Star." He smiled at her. She had chosen the movie of course, but in truth he hadn't minded watching it.

Starfire sat up a bit, leaving the crook of his arm so they were at the same level. "Perhaps next time we can watch one of those Kung-Fu movies you like so much."

"Only if you want to," he said. She smiled at him, leaning forward in order to kiss him. His arms wrapped around her back as she tangled her hands in his hair. He felt  _extremely_ glad that they had opted to watch the movie in his room rather than in the Ops. Centre, like they had originally intended.

He felt her hands move to his mask after a little bit, and he let her. He ignored the part of him that was screaming about what Batman would say if he knew that he was going to show a teammate his identity. He also ignored the bit of him that responded with an image of what Batman would say if he could see Robin now.

He felt the layers of glue come undone as Starfire applied the smallest amount of her alien strength to his mask, allowing it to come undone slowly. It took patience to remove his mask. How long it took would depend on how long ago he had removed it last. Luckily he had been removing it while he was sleeping lately. Finally he felt it come off, allowing his full face to be seen by her.

Starfire pulled back, probably to get a better look at him. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that she was clutching the mask tightly.

"You look much younger without your mask," Starfire said, tilting her head to the left as she looked at him.

Robin laughed and took the mask out of her hands, placing it on his bedside table. "Don't worry, Star. I'm still the same age." He met her gaze, acutely aware that this was the first time he had met her gaze without either his mask or a pair of sunglasses getting in the way.

Starfire reached out and pressed her hand against his cheek. He raised his hand up to grab hers. "I like your eyes. They are… most pleasant." She whispered.

Robin kissed her hand. "Not as pleasant as yours."

Starfire giggled. "Jinx told me once—" She paused as she thought of her missing friend, but pushed on anyway. "—that Kid Flash allows her to call him by another name when he is without his mask—"

"Dick Grayson," he interrupted.

Starfire looked confused. "I thought it was Wally We—"

"No Star. My name. It's Dick Grayson."

"Oh." Starfire flushed. "That is a… a very nice name."

"Then you can call me it any time we're alone," he whispered, smiling at her.

Starfire smiled back as she leaned forward to kiss him again. "Very well. I love you… Dick Grayson."

"And I love you Starfire," he answered right before their lips met. It seemed to get easier each time he said it.

* * *

His feet hit concrete as he vaulted himself onto the roof. His masked eyes scanned the Jump City skyline, but saw nothing.

He hadn't believed it when he had heard that she was here. But whatever her reason, he was going to stop her. Before she could harm anyone else.

His eyes narrowed as he spotted a figure dashing across rooftops in the distance. He raised a set of binoculars to his eyes. It was her alright. The smile that crossed his face might have been described as predatory.

He took a running start at the next rooftop, landing nimbly on his feet as he took off after her. His gloved hands clutched his weapon tightly. Adrenaline and the familiar exhilaration of the hunt filled him as his feet made loud noises against the concrete. Silhouetted against the moon, he could easily see her form, retreating towards the harbor. He was gaining.

The next jump was a long one. He removed his eyes from her reluctantly as he leapt across the gap. He landed in a somersault, rolling up into battle position, just in case she had turned around to attack him. She almost certainly knew that he was following her by now. He hadn't been exactly subtle or quiet in his attempt to follow her. His eyes scanned the scene. She was nowhere in sight, which put his nerves on edge.

He got to his feet carefully but quickly. One could never be too careful when dealing with her. This whole thing could be a trap. He dismissed the idea quickly. She had no reason to know that he was here.

He started running again, leaping onto the next rooftop, watching for her. Maybe she had thought she could outrun him. His grin widened at the thought. She was fast, but she was  _not_  built for distance. He could outlast her easily. And then she would be taken down.

Or maybe not, he thought as he turned a corner to see that she was still nowhere in sight, and that there was a bomb at his feet, presumably dropped by her. He swiped at it with his feet, praying silently that no one would be hurt by the blast, and ducked behind a nearby chimney. The bright light and loud sound of the explosion surrounded him. His smile was long gone. Things were serious now.

He was just getting to his feet when he felt a knife pressed against his neck. "Well, well. The rumors are true. You  _are_  back in Jump," her voice hissed in his ear. He called himself twelve kinds of idiot for allowing her to sneak up on him. She could kill him now, and they both knew it.

"So are you, I see." He didn't move a muscle, not even to go for his weapon. One wrong movement from him and she would slit his throat without a problem. Knowing her, she'd do it while smiling. He bit his lip.

"Why is it that you always come after me alone? You never bring any of your friends along. Are you really that… _protective_  of me?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Cheshire," Speedy snarled.

"You're no fun," the masked assassin laughed.

"Why are you here? Who hired you?"

"Who says I'm not here for you?" she whispered, pressing her knife against his neck. "Old vendettas you know… unfinished business…" He wanted to swallow, but didn't allow himself to for fear of the sharp blade. A single movement on her part, and he'd be dead. He tried to reach his communicator without her noticing. A very difficult task, since the position that she was holding him meant that he was pressed right up against her.

"If you were really here for me, I'd be dead already," he managed, trying not to allow his nervousness show in his voice. Just because she wasn't here for him didn't mean that she wouldn't kill him just to prove she could.

He could almost hear the smirk in her voice. "Correct." He felt his knees go weak with release as the knife was removed. He didn't turn around, and felt her hands on his back, shoving him to the ground. He rotated his head, just in time to see her raise a hand to her masked mouth and back down. Blowing him a kiss. He scrambled to his feet, furious with himself for letting her get so close to killing him. The assassin knew exactly how to get under his skin.

"See you later,  _hero_."

He took off after her, continuing the rooftop chase. His bow was now out, and he fired arrow after arrow. Exploding arrow, (she dodged), net arrow, (she avoided it), boxing glove arrow (she dodged), and then a gas arrow. The puffs of knock-out gas filled the air, and he charged forward, thinking he'd finally got her.

But when he reached the cloud, the air was already clearing, and Cheshire was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it!" he grumbled. He glanced at his communicator and looked at the time. His heart sped up a bit. He had to get back to the Tower  _now_.

He'd promised Jade he'd call, after all.

* * *

"I'm thinking of a person," Jinx said, looking up at the ceiling.

"Kid Flash," The Herald said, shifting a little.

"Wrong. One down."

"Do we know this person?" Hot Spot said, leaning against the tube he was in. His voice was a bit muffled, but they could understand him just fine.

"Yes. Two down."

"Okay, is this person a good guy or a bad guy?" the Herald asked.

"Bad guy. Very bad. That's three."

"Was this person in the Brotherhood of Evil?" Kilowatt asked, tugging on the chains that connected him to the wall more out of habit than anything else.

"That's a stupid question. Who  _wasn't_  in the Brotherhood of Evil?"

The two boys exchanged a glance. "That's true," The Herald conceded.

"Is it Doctor Light?" Bumblebee asked. The other former HIVE student had been shrunk down, had a collar like the one Control Freak had once used on her stuck on so she couldn't grow back, and, to add insult to injury, been stuck in a jar with a few air holes in it.

"Ding ding, we have a winner!" Jinx said, leaning her head back.

"And that's another one for Bumblebee!" The Herald said.

Hot Spot removed a pen from his pocket to make another mark on the tube he was in under a neat column labeled with Bee's name. "Jinx is still winning."

"Does anyone else think we should probably be a bit more miserable while we're captured? Just to keep up appearances, you know?" Kilowatt asked, wincing as the wires leading off him siphoned off a particularly large bit of electricity off of him.

"Why? It's either this or extreme boredom," Jinx said. "When I was at the HIVE, we were taught that if you want to keep someone captive a long time, you have to let them be entertained somehow, otherwise when it comes to a hostage swap or something, they're a bit funny in the head. And then, sometimes, the good guys don't even want them anymore."

Hot Spot looked at her skeptically. "You're kidding, right?"

Jinx just raised an eyebrow.

"Wasn't Nightmare supposed to watch us? Not that I'm complaining, mind you, that thing is absolutely terrifying, but honestly, it's a bit offensive that they think they can just leave us here, without supervision, and we won't escape or anything," the Herald said, looking for the fear monster but not finding it.

"Well, at least with Changer gone, we don't have to listen to her monologue about her back-story," Jinx said with a grin. "She would have failed Evil Speeches 101, wouldn't she Bee?"

"Completely. She can't monologue to save her life. Let alone do an exposition."

"And her motive rant was off. Completely focused on the wrong parts of the story."

"Absolutely. And she gave  _me_  a rant in the middle of a fight. That's  _really_  poor form."

"I'd say it was about a C-."

"C-? You're being nice. That's a flat out D."

"I cannot believe you two are discussing this," Hot Spot said, banging his head against the tube as gently as he could.

"Well, it's this or go insane. Which would you prefer?" Jinx said affably.

"I think you already  _have_  gone insane," The Herald informed Jinx innocently. "Ow!" She had kicked him.

"So what should we play now?" Jinx asked, looking at the others.

"I'd suggest Rock, Paper, Scissors, but Spotty and I are the only ones who can actually use our hands," drawled Bee, lying down in a position that looked considerably more comfortable than being propped up against a wall. The jar was surprisingly roomy.

"Oh, don't you start," muttered the pyrokenetic. "First Kid Flash, then Argent, and now you!"

"How about the Animal Game?" Kilowatt suggested.

"…the Nightmare Child does  _not_  count as an animal," Jinx informed him.

"Darn. Not much point then, is there?"

"We could sing until Changer yells at us again," The Herald said with an evil grin.

"That game  _is_  a lot of fun…" Jinx said thoughtfully.

"She's going to regret she ever captured us," Bee replied with a smirk.

"Alright then! Who's up for Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall?" said Hot Spot cheerfully.

* * *

Jericho played another chord on his guitar. The familiar sound soothed him. He'd been having bad dreams lately. Playing guitar seemed to help.

G, D, C, E minor, A minor, C major 7, G , D, C… the familiar tune spilled easily from his instrument. Yellow Submarine was easy.

And Kole really like the Beatles. He pushed aside that thought. Thinking of Kole distracted him from the guitar.

He had been surprised that Kole had asked him out on that date. His fingers played the wrong chord. He frowned and played it again, correctly this time. He'd been surprised that she liked him. But it was a nice surprise.

He wasn't going to tell her that he'd been thinking about asking her out as well.

There was a knock on the door. He opened it, and stopped dead in his tracks, the guitar still in his hand. It was the Nightmare Child.

He dropped the guitar and scrambled backwards, fighting the images of his father and Jackal that were surfacing in his mind. The creature walked toward him, and Jericho found he was having trouble breathing.

"Hello Joey," Nightmare Child whispered, reaching out and touching his face in a way that he almost described as gentle. Jericho felt like he was going to faint. Her form was warping in front of him, taking on the far too familiar form of Jackal. Even the voice changed.

He tried to run, to dodge around her and into the hall where he could raise the alarm. Argent was right next door, Kid Flash across the hall, if he moved quickly, he could make it…

But his feet wouldn't move. Just like Argent. Images kept surfacing in his head, and he couldn't keep them down. The time he'd nearly drowned as a little boy in the local pool. The first time he ever possessed someone. The day he lost his voice. The Nightmare Child, still looking like Jackal, smirked at him.

Suddenly he felt something on his throat. He found he could move his hands, and lifted them to the place where he felt it. The small scar on his neck where Jackal had cut him was open again, blood coming out of it. He moved his hands away, looking at the blood on his hands.

The Nightmare Child warped into Slade Wilson, in the uniform that the Titans were used to seeing him in. Amusement gleamed in his— _its_ —eye as it loomed over him.

"I'm so proud of you, Jericho." The words were the last thing Jericho heard before he fainted.

The Nightmare Child tilted its head to one side as it touched the wound on Jericho's neck. It sniffed the blood. It was real, alright. That was surprising. It had never created actual harm in its victims before. Maybe Changer would know the answer to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: As a final note here, school is coming up. That means updates will become (even more) uncommon. But don't worry, there's only a few left, and I know almost everything that's going to happen. The goal is to get it all wrapped up by October, or at the most by the end of the year.**
> 
> **Thanks for sticking with me!**
> 
> **Hinn-Raven**


	14. Warrior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Sorry this took so long, school's back in full swing, and I have to keep up. I was hoping to have this all done by October, but it doesn't seem likely. Let's keep our fingers crossed though! Please review when finished. (You know, I only need one more review, and then this story has finally become my most reviewed story, overtaking Don't Let a Mary-Sue into Titans Tower at last. It took three times as many chapters. I wonder what this says about Mary-Sues in fanfiction?)**
> 
> **Obligatory disclaimer: Insert something witty about not owning the Teen Titans here.**

"He  _bled_?" Changer's voice—now roughened with shock and rapid aging—demanded. She pulled off her sunglasses in order to have a better look at Joseph Wilson's unconscious form.

Her icy blue eyes took in the cut on his throat. Clearly a knife wound, she thought, reaching out to touch the already drying blood. It was obviously real. This was not good.

"I already said that," the Nightmare Child sulked. Was it just Changer's paranoia, or was it starting to grow  _bigger_?

"I know," she muttered. It was times like this that she regretted recruiting the creature. That thing was a game changer. Powerful, impatient, and containing the mind and attention span of a six-year old, it was, in Changer's mind, the worst possible combination.

And now it was gaining yet more abilities. Changer rubbed her temples, wishing that things would just follow the plan for  _once_. This was going to force her hand on some very dramatic measures.

She looked over the steps left in the plan and decided with a cautious flinch that she could speed up the final stages. There hadn't been much of a point for the wait, anyways.

She looked at her hands, now wrinkled and ancient, and sighed. She had a week at the most. Why  _now_ , when her entire existence hinged on the success of this plan, did everything have to go wrong?

The Nightmare Child had to go. The sooner the better. That much was clear.

An old idea, one rejected a while back, before she'd even arrived at Jump City, suggested itself. With the information she had now… yes, she decided. It would work. She refused to allow the smirk that wanted to materialize show on her lips.

"Put him with the others," she said flatly, rolling the finer points of her plan around in her head.

The creature tilted its head to one side, looking utterly baffled. It was an amusing expression on its face, she had to admit it. "But the blood—?"

"I'll look into it," she said shortly, not voicing her theory that the dream monster was actually starting to be able to recreate fears not just in dreams, but in the real world as well. Terrifying thought, really.

* * *

"Hey Jade," Speedy said into the phone, deliberately using the deeper voice that he'd used whenever he'd had to play the role of Roy Harper.

"Hey Roy!" her lovely voice came in through the phone. He smiled, even as he examined the bruise on his forearm where Cheshire had shoved him into the concrete.

"How're you?" he asked, holding the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he examined his bow for any damage.

"Fine, thanks Roy. How's Jump City?"

"It's great. I hate meetings." That was his cover-story, always was. Oliver wanted him to take over the company some day (sadly true) and had him go to conferences, meetings, and the like (thankfully, not true.) He kind of wished that he could tell Jade the truth. But Ollie had a strict, "No telling your girlfriend" rule. The idea being that, when the relationship inevitably went sour, his girlfriend wouldn't do something stupid, like let it slip to her best friend, who happened to be a super-villain, that the reason that the relationship had gone bad was that he'd valued playing hero over her. (Ollie  _swore_  this had never happened to him. Speedy wasn't so sure.)

"Poor Roy." He thought he heard the sound of metal against metal over the phone.

"What was that?" he asked without thinking.

"Oh, I'm just getting ready for dinner," Jade said lightly.

Roy laughed. "How's the school? Get any bruises from those new recruits?" Jade ran a martial arts school in Steel City, teaching kids self-defense. Mainly judo.

"Just one," Jade laughed. "It's from the one I told you about."

"What was his name? William?" Roy said, examining one of his arrows with a critical eye. The energy level was off… he took out his screwdriver to fix it.

"Yeah, him. I swear, every time I work with him he's either going to kill me or kiss me."

Roy rolled his eyes. "Sounds like a charmer. Why do you teach him again?"

"He's cute," Jade said, her voice teasing.

"As cute as me?" he asked, faking hurt.

"Not even close," she reassured with a laugh.

"Well then, I can live with that."

He heard a small tune play the beginning of  _Another One Bites the Dust_ , and he could hear her gasp slightly. "Crap. Got to go, Roy! Love you!"

"Love you," he echoed, pressing the end button on the phone.

* * *

Kid Flash stared at the ring, still in its box. She'd never got to put it on… he thought sadly as he ran his gloved fingers over the silver band. Another tear made its way down his cheek.

"Jinx…" he whispered. He could almost hear her making fun of him for talking to himself again. She did it a lot…. He tugged off his mask, flinching internally—taking off the mask was Jinx's job. Had been ever since he had told her his name, the same night he had told her he loved her for the first time. A small smile played at the corners of his lips as he recalled that night.

He put the box down, leaving it open. The bathroom door swung open, and Jinx walked out.

"Brooding again?" she teased, wrapping her arms around him. He twisted his own arms, lifting her up into the air, and onto his lap.

"You know me," he said, kissing her. Jinx moaned slightly, pulling at his hair with her fingers as she returned the kiss.

"Yes I certainly do, Wally West," she whispered as they surfaced out of the kiss.

"Jinx West. Jinxie West. Jiiinx West. Nope. That just doesn't sound right."

"No, it really doesn't," his fiancé agreed.

"What was your name before the HIVE? Did you have one?"

"How should I know? This is  _your_  dream, remember?"

"Oh. Right." He lay down, staring at the ceiling. "Why don't I know your name? Don't you trust me?"

'I'm a production of your subconscious mind, how should I know?" not-Jinx said, laying down next to him so that they were looking at each other.

"Good point. But, as my subconscious instead of as my girlfriend, what do you think?"

"That you're talking to yourself again?"

" _Besides_  that, please?" he asked.

"She doesn't know, she doesn't trust you, she doesn't think it matters, or you never asked. Take your pick," not-Jinx replied.

"But that's basically every option," he complained.

"Maybe you should ask  _her_ , instead of wasting your dreams attempting to converse with your subconscious," not-Jinx suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea,' said Kid Flash, nodding.

The bed disappeared, and he was suddenly standing upright. Jinx was now at his side, wearing her uniform instead of pajamas, ready for a fight.

In front of them were the Brotherhood of Evil's so called "crack troops." General Immortus, however, was nowhere to be seen. Probably had run off, and left these behind to distract them.

"Open fire!" one of the soldiers yelled, and the blasts of their guns flew through the air. Kid Flash dodged them, laughing with the exhilaration of his speed as he smashed into them, stealing their energy weapons and destroying them easily.

As he smashed the final gun into the concrete floor beneath his feet, he turned his attention to Jinx. She was swaying on the spot, clutching her abdomen, her face completely ashen. "Jinx!" he yelled, running to her side as she collapsed.

He pressed his fingers to her neck, feeling her pulse. Her heart beat was slow, far too slow. He tugged her hand away from the place that it was covering, and saw the savage burn mark from the energy weapons. He swore. "Jinx, why didn't you duck?" Why hadn't he noticed? He should have been faster, should have been able to stop whichever soldier had fired the shot…

She didn't answer, her breath was coming hard.

"Raven!" he screamed, cradling Jinx's head in his lap. "Raven!" She needed help, she needed a healer, where  _was_  Raven?

"I love you," Jinx whispered, looking at him. Pink met blue.

Something died in her eyes. The light, the thing that was  _Jinx_  faded away. He was holding a corpse.

Her mouth was lolling open, her eyes vacant, and her body heat leaving too quickly. Kid Flash took her head off his lap, and gently laid it on the ground, weeping openly. He staggered to his feet and leaned against the wall, balancing himself against it as he cried for the girl he loved.

He turned back to her, to see her again, to try to reassure himself that she wasn't really dead. But she wasn't moving. He fell to his knees beside her again, unable to stay standing.

Jinx moved. He leaned forward, trying to see what it was. Suddenly, he reeled back in horror. Spiders. Spiders were coming out of Jinx's open mouth, climbing out by the dozens, crawling towards him.

More and more continued to appear, climbing out of Jinx's clothes, her shoes, her hair, even her vacant eyes. All pouring towards him.

He staggered backwards, trying to keep away from the swarm of tiny, little black spiders, the type that showed up anywhere. He tripped, and they scurried over him. He jammed his eyes shut so they couldn't get in, and held his hands over his ears. Screams tried to force their way out from behind his lips, but he managed to keep them shut by biting them.

The tiny little feet scurried everywhere, all over him. They were under his clothes, in his hair, crawling all across his face. He could feel them on his eyelids as they hurried across, one replacing another over and over again. And he couldn't even scream.

Suddenly, one of them bit him. He leapt to his feet and opened his eyes and mouth, screaming in pain. Spiders were sent in all directions by the sudden movement. He started vibrating, trying to shake off the spiders still left on him, but they didn't leave. But no new ones came on, so he kept doing it.

Suddenly the spiders transformed, melting away until they became fabric. The fabric of a tuxedo. Robin appeared next to him, a grin on his face.

"Ready?" the Boy Wonder asked, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

"Always," he responded, grinning. Robin pushed open the grand, wide doors of the church and the two of them walked down the aisle, towards the alter.

Robin grinned at him as the two of them waited. Finally, after about a lifetime, the doors swung open, and Melvin dashed forward, sprinkling rose petals in all directions, beaming widely. Más and Menos staggered forward next, carrying a cushion containing the rings between the two of them. Raven, Argent, and Starfire, the bridesmaids, walked forward next, Raven and Bumblebee in black, and Starfire in purple. Kid Flash poked Robin to stop him from gaping  _too_  openly.

Finally, Jinx appeared, in her black wedding dress. (He'd made a comment about marrying in a black dress being bad luck a while back, and earned himself a smack.) Argent was carrying the train, dressed in dark purple. No one was giving Jinx away. As Jinx herself had declared, who was there? Brother Blood (he  _had_  offered, when they'd announced it to the world)? Not going to happen.

A bouquet of roses was clutched in her hand, and her face was positively radiant with excitement as she walked down the aisle, in perfect tempo to the music. He felt like the luckiest guy on the planet, no pun intended.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today," Batman droned, sounding as un-Batman-like as it was possible to be.  _Why_  was Batman conducting the ceremony, anyway?

He didn't really listen to the long list of vows, he was too busy staring at Jinx. His beautiful, brilliant Jinx. She smiled at him.

"I do," said Jinx, her eyes shining brightly as she looked at him.

It was his turn. "I—" he couldn't finish the two letter word. He tried again, but couldn't make a sound. Jinx stared at him, disbelief starting to force its way onto her face.

What if Jinx was lying? What if she didn't really love him? What if they fought? What if they divorced? What if this was all a part of her evil scheme? What if he let her down? The stream of continuous what-ifs forced themselves to the surface. Jinx was still staring at him, waiting for him to say the other word.

Something tore at his heart. He couldn't do this. He  _loved_  her. Tears streamed down Jinx's face. "I see how it is," she said, tossing the flowers onto the ground. She tore down the aisle, closely followed by Jinx, Raven, Bee, and Argent, who had all taken flight to catch up with her.

It felt like someone had stabbed him. He fell to his knees, picking up the rejected flowers carefully. Robin knelt beside him.

"Why KF? Why? I thought you loved her!" His best friend looked confused.

"I just couldn't," he muttered, stroking the edges of one of the flowers. He closed his eyes. "I need to talk to her."

"I don't think that's—"

But it was too late. The fastest boy alive was gone, racing off to find her.

A barrier of black energy slammed into him as soon as Jinx came into sight. She was in a heap on the ground, sobbing, with Starfire and Bee comforting her. Raven and Argent were blocking his way to her.

"She doesn't want to see you," Raven said, crossing her arms.

"Why would she after that?" Argent agreed, glaring at him.

"I need to talk to her though! I need to explain—"

"Explain why? Explain why you were a coward? A filthy little coward?" Raven's voice seethed with anger. "Wally West, you are nothing but a coward. Always have been. You say you love her, but you couldn't bring yourself to say a simple, one-syllable word? You really couldn't manage that much? You're pathetic. You're nothing."

"And now you've broken her heart. And now nothing will ever be the same," said Argent, turning her back on him.

He fell to his knees again. "But… I love her."

"Then maybe you should have been brave," Raven said flatly, floating over to join the others.

The room swirled, and the scene before him changed. He was kneeling in front of a simple grave. All it read was  _Jinx_. No last name, no birth or death date, no epitaph.

"I don't get why you come here all the time. It only makes it worse," Robin said.

"I loved her," he muttered, setting a single rose on the grave.

"Yeah, and then she played you. Used you. And then she betrayed you. And after all that you still love her?" Robin's voice was incredulous.

He didn't respond to that. Every last Titan had already told him that, and it hadn't changed anything.

"Why Jinx?" he muttered, tracing the smooth edges of the granite with his fingertips. He ran them over the four letter carving. "Why'd you do it? Wasn't I good enough for you? What could I have done to make you stay, to make you good? What did you do that made the HIVE kill you?"

"You've got to move on!" Robin said, dragging him to his feet. "You've got to! This is killing you!"

"I don't care!" he yelled. "I don't care!"

"Well, you should!" Robin yelled right back. "You're just being selfish! It's as easy as that!"

* * *

Bushido raised his katana into the air and struck the target dummy again. And again. The calm repetition of the sword dance filled his muscles, allowing his mind to forget the horrid events.

He readjusted his grip and struck out again. He was alone in the training rooms. Speedy had been here not long ago, grumbling something about Queen songs that he hadn't understood, but then had left.

No one else seemed to be able to appreciate how important this was. Exercise was good for the mind as well as the body, as if that alone wasn't enough incentive. Perhaps they thought their powers would protect them, he thought darkly, swinging the sword. They seemed to forget that powers could be nullified. But abilities, such as fighting or swordsmanship, those couldn't be stopped. Robin understood, as did Speedy. Even Jinx had understood, which was why she had learnt gymnastics and hand-to-hand combat as well as her powers. But the others, they didn't. They were so sure that their strength, or their speed, or their ability to channel the elements would keep them out of danger, and they looked down on the ones like him, who channeled the abilities of a human to keep the world safe.

The enemies of the Titans all thought that he was not as good, that he was  _weak._  He could see it when they fought him, the way they always had the henchmen fight him rather than take him on always managed to forget that Batman, and Green Arrow, and their protégés were all like him. They didn't remember that the city he protected, back home in Japan, was safe to walk in at night now. That no villain had been able to pull off a scheme in any form in the area that he protected since  _before_  he joined the Titans. They did not notice. They did not look.

And he wasn't about to stop them underestimating him any time soon. That would be their downfall, he thought grimly, swinging his katana through the air gracefully.

Even the Titans tended to forget. But he had noticed that Jinx's luck had failed her, that Hot Spot's fireballs had not been enough, that Bee's flight, stingers, and strength had failed her in battle, and that Kilowatt and the Herald had not been able to escape, despite their powers. It would be the ones like him and Robin that took down the Nightmare Child and its mistress. He knew it.

The door swung open, and he heard footsteps. Slowly, he turned around to see who had entered the room.

Something heavy and metal smashed against his head, and he collapsed on the ground.

"Thought you looked tired," a voice that belonged to a silver haired woman crouched by his side hissed in his ear, as darkness descended.

* * *

Kole knocked on the door of Jericho's room, her heart beating in the slightly faster way she'd come to associate talking with her sort-of boyfriend. It felt too soon to be calling him boyfriend, before they'd even gone on that date…

She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to smooth out the errant strands as she waited for him to respond.

A cold, foreboding feeling filled her stomach. "Jericho!" she called out, rapping on the door hard. She pressed the button that would open the door. "Jericho?"

The room was empty. Kole's eyes were fixated on the guitar, discarded in the middle of the floor. Jericho would never have left it there willingly. Further proof was the communicator, placed in the center of the room. Kole's hands trembled as they reached for her own communicator to alert the others.

* * *

"Is everyone here?" Robin called, pacing. Jericho was missing. This was bad. This was  _very, very_  bad.

"I do not believe so," said Red Star. "Where is Bushido?'

Eyes swung around the room, searching for the Japanese Warrior.

Kid Flash leapt to his feet, swearing loudly, taking off the search the Tower. Más and Menos took off after him, crying out in Spanish for him to wait up.

"Who saw him last?" Robin demanded.

"I saw him in the training court not even an hour ago," Speedy admitted. "But I left."

"This isn't good," Raven said. "The attacks are speeding up."

"I have to agree," Robin said, pulling at his hair. "We  _need_  to be more careful. Don't go anywhere alone. Don't make stupid mistakes. Carry something flammable if you can, even! We need to be able to fight this off!"

Kid Flash returned. "No sign of him. But his sword and his communicator were in the training rooms."

Robin growled.

"Should we search the city again?" Argent said, crossing her arms.

"No," Robin said. "Searching the city again won't reveal anything that we didn't already know. No use wasting energy on that."

"Not to mention that we learned how easy it is for them to set up an ambush," Cyborg said, scowling.

"No leaving the Tower. No going anywhere alone."

"And avoid  _anything_  that reminds you of  _any_ horror movie!" Beast Boy yelled. "Dark, lonely hallways,  _never_  go in, even with a friend. And don't even go  _near_ the basement!"

Everyone exchanged glances.

"So what  _can_  we do?" Pantha demanded, standing up. "I cannot sit around doing nothing while our friends are in danger!"

"Putting ourselves in danger won't help them at all, Pantha!" Robin said, and Red Star touched her arm gently. She looked at him, and sat down with a huff.

"She'll come to us," Raven said calmly. "She's after something. I don't know what yet, but she is. And when she's ready, when she thinks she's weakened us enough… then she'll strike, full force."

"Raven's right," Robin said. "We have to be careful."

* * *

There wasn't a single dark hair left among the grey. Changer growled to herself as she stared into the mirror. Wrinkles were plentiful on her face, her bones creaked, and she tired far too easily.

It would be so much easier if she could actually trust the Nightmare Child to handle the final stages of the plan on its own. But she knew better than to trust the creature at all.

Time was moving far too quickly. Her time was running out fast. At this rate, there wouldn't  _be_  a fight. She needed energy.

Luckily she had a source very close by.

She stepped out into the open area, pressing a few buttons on her computer to lower the shield made of the electricity that she'd been siphoning off Kilowatt, and then approached her captives.

Jericho was now awake, jerking at the metal bands that attached him to the wall. The smiles and laughter of the Titans had faded when Jericho, and now Bushido had joined them. Bushido and Jericho were next to each other, a blindfold covering Jericho's eyes, and Bushido disarmed, and so, helpless. He hadn't even woken up yet from the frying pan to the head.

She walked up to Jinx, and smiled. The former villainess looked up at her. "What do you want?"

Changer didn't answer. She instead knelt down, closed her eyes, and allowed herself to prepare for an energy draining.

Her hands changed, fingers pushing out, becoming much longer. She heard the bones scream in protest, but didn't feel the pain. She had learned to ignore it over a century ago. Her hands were now more like talons. Fingernails shot out, long and curving.

She opened her eyes again, and placed one hand on each of the luck-girl's shoulders. Confusion and a little bit of fear showed clearly on Jinx's face. Changer smirked, and pierced the thin cloth of the pajamas with her nails, allowing herself contact with skin. That was all she needed.

Pink energy, the energy of Jinx's powers, flickered up her hands, travelling towards the rest of her. Wrinkles disappeared, the silver hair that she could see, framing her face became brown. Power, enough for the fight, filled her. She released Jinx, who was now slumped against the wall, weak.

"What did you do with her?" the Herald yelled, tugging at the wall desperately, trying to check on her.

"She'll live," Changer smirked. "And so will I."

* * *

Starfire had her legs drawn up to her chest as she and her beloved gazed out over the skyline of Jump City. Night had fallen already, and the stars were out, but not the moon.

The stars and constellations were so different from the ones in her home world. When she was younger, Galfore had loved to show her the sky, pointing out the ones that had had life. "That," he'd said, pointing at a very small speck, "Is called Sol. A species called humans live on the third planet that star."

"What are they like, Galfore?" she asked, smiling.

"Their people are diverse. They are not united, not together. It is difficult to describe."

She sighed.

"You okay?" Robin asked.

"I was just thinking of Tamaran."

Robin smiled at her. She'd been a bit surprised when he'd suggested coming out here. She'd thought he'd be in his study, attempting to discover more about their enemies. But it was wonderful that he wanted to spend time with her.

"I really miss it, Robin. My people, my planet," she admitted. "Sometimes I wonder if I shall ever return there… but then again, I don't want to. I belong here. With you."

Robin yawned widely, and Starfire stared at him. It was not like Robin to yawn while she was talking.

"Is something wrong?"

"I just never thought you could be so  _boring_ ," Robin said. Starfire recoiled. This was most unlike Robin.

"Robin?" her voice sounded timid and scared to her own ears.

"'Robin?'" he imitated cruelly. "Aren't you supposed to be the Warrior Empress of Tamaran? Aren't you supposed to be scared of nothing?"

"What is this?" Starfire demanded, glaring.

He smirked widely. "Haven't you figured it out yet?"

He seemed to grow as he stood up. When he did stand up, he was far taller than Robin ought to be. His hair grew, tumbling past his shoulders as it became paler. The mask disappeared, revealing a pair of bright  _pink_  eyes, exactly like Jinx's. But it was not Jinx who stood before her.

Starfire scrambled to her feet as she took in the form of the "Creepy Girl."

"You are a shape-changer?" Starfire demanded, shocked. "Where is Robin?"

"In his study, being a good little boy," the other mocked with a smirk. Starfire quickly pulled out her communicator. Quickly, the girl dashed forward, shrinking in height, her hair piling itself on top of her head and becoming bright pink as her form switched to that of Jinx. Her hands extended, Jinx's bad-luck firing out of her hands, shattering Starfire's communicator.

Starfire smiled inwardly. The SOS would sound now. She raised her hands to fight, summoning her starbolts. The girl switched forms to that of Argent, and smirked, summoning plasma.

"You know, I'd almost forgotten how much fun it is to switch forms when I fight," said the other girl idly. "I haven't had enough energy to in  _ages_."

Starfire looked at the replication of Argent, feeling something was off. Then she focused on the eyes. Still pink, still very, very pink. Just like Jinx's.

"You will surrender, and inform me of the location of my friends!" Starfire said.

"Do you really think so?" the other girl said, tilting her head. "I've had enough time to gather the forms—and the powers—of almost every single Titan, not to mention the HIVE Five. Can you fight all of them? Can you beat all of them?"

Doubt flickered in her mind. But she didn't let it show on her face. "The noise of our battle will inform my friends of this. They will come soon enough."

"Oh, I think the SOS that you fired off will bring them much sooner."

Starfire stared. She knew… how could she—

The other girl moved her arms, and something collided into her before she could finish the thought. Kid Flash was now the chosen form of the shape-changer, racing towards her, something in his (her?) hand.

Something sharp pierced her skin. Her form returned to that of the "Creepy Girl" and smirked as she held up the needle for Starfire to see.

"It's a sedative. One of the little goodies I had Gizmo whip up for me. It'll keep even a Tamaranian unconscious for a while."

Starfire, sure enough, was swaying on the spot. The other girl reached out and grabbed her as she fell.

A minute later, when the team arrived, no one would be there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: And that's it! We've now reached the climax. There's not much left to go, so if you click the pretty little button right below and tell me what you think, I'll want to let you guys know what happens next so much more!**
> 
> **Thanks!**
> 
> **Hinn-Raven**


	15. The Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: So here it is! The last real chapter. I considered splitting it into two sections, just to make it more dramatic, but I decided against it. I hope you guys apprectiate this as much as you did the last chapter. (Geeze, you guys were great! 10 reviews!) Please keep them coming!**
> 
> **Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. Otherwise Changer and Nightmare Child wouldn't be OCs, would they?**

Robin's feet pounded up the staircase, terror filling his every molecule. Starfire's communicator had just fired off the automatic SOS. She was in trouble. He reached the door and threw it open, charging out with a bo staff in hand.

Nothing.

His eyes scanned the scene, looking for clues. Already he felt the training Batman had pounded into him take control from the part of him that was too emotionally invested in this. He had to concentrate. Starfire depended on it. Starfire… He pushed the thought aside.

The other Titans piled onto the roof around him, frozen as they realized what must have happened here.

He walked the length of the roof, searching. Looking for a lock of hair, footprints, or even blood on the ground. He spotted strange marks on the wall by the door, ones that vaguely resembled the ones Jinx's attacks left behind. He found a disposed needle, which he tossed to Cyborg for analysis.

It didn't take long for him to find the real evidence, though. A communicator lay on the ground, partially concealed by the shadow of an overhang, on top of a piece of paper.

Robin clutched the communicator in one hand as he read the writing on the paper.

He turned around, to see all the Titans that were left staring at him, waiting for him to tell them what was going on. He was their leader, he should know what to do.

Crumpling up the piece of paper in his hand, ignoring the part of him that protested about harming the evidence, he looked at them and declared, "Get ready and then we're heading out."

"What?" said Kid Flash, who had clearly just woken up, Raven thought, slightly amused in spite of herself at the sight of him in pajamas and mask. "Why? Robin, you can't just think that because it's  _your_  girlfriend this time—"

Robin threw something at Kid Flash, which the fastest boy alive caught easily. He un-crumpled the ball of paper, looked at it, and paled. "D'you know what? I take it back. Let's go." He passed it to Speedy, who looked at it, and started reading.

"614 Lilac Avenue. You're friends are there. Don't keep us waiting, Changer." The archer looked up from the note. "You know this is almost certainly a trap, don't you?"

"It's not almost certainly a trap, it  _is_  a trap. There's no other reason that she would give us this hint."

"You think she believes that she can face all of us?" Lightning asked, incredulous.

"She must," Robin said, still clutching the communicator he'd found in one hand.

"We can't just barge in," Raven voiced. "Since this  _is_  a trap, we need to get every last advantage we can. We have to prepare, take our time."

"We can't wait too long!" Kid Flash protested, eyes wide. "This is the best lead we've gotten ever since that stupid 'Changer' came into Jump! We can't just sit around and  _wait_!"

"I never said we should," Raven said soothingly, feeling his loneliness and concern for Jinx coming off him in waves. "But we need to be careful."

"Um… Robin?" Argent spoke suddenly. "What's that you're holding?"

"Starfire's communicator," Robin replied, looking down on it.

"Yeah… sorry to add to the worry, but wasn't Starfire's communicator  _destroyed_?" Argent said, looking very worried herself.

Robin looked horrified that he hadn't realized that himself. He flipped it open, and froze. "It's a bomb!" he managed to shout, throwing it as hard as he could over the edge. It exploded on its way to the ocean with a huge boom, and probably some damage to the Tower. Raven wrapped all of the Titans in a dome of her energy to protect them from any shrapnel.

"Yeah," Aqualad said, eyes hard. "Let's get ready."

* * *

"I was kind of hoping that at least one of them would be hit," Changer said, drumming her fingers on her desk absently. "Oh well, can't have everything."

Starfire had joined the other Titans behind the electric wall, the parameters of which Changer had expanded. She, like Hot Spot was in one of the clear plastic tubes, but hers had been specially modified to tolerate her strength and starbolts. The alien wasn't awake yet, but she would be soon enough. The sedative wasn't that strong.

Ever since she'd drained enough energy for the fight from Jinx, Changer had been pleased to note that the Titans had lost their sense of levity. No longer were they just waiting for their friends to catch her and throw her in jail; now they were preparing for the final fight.

The fight would be big, Changer knew it. She had to use every last thing she could to her advantage.

Even if she went down tonight, she planned on going kicking and screaming.

"How long till they get here?" she called out to Nightmare.

"I give them about fifteen minutes. Half an hour tops," the childlike monster said, eager for the fight and its role in it.

"Good," Changer said.

"I don't get it though," the creature complained. "Wouldn't it just be easier to ambush the Demon Child when she's on her own?"

It took a second for Changer to realize that it meant Raven, not itself. "No. She'd sense me, and I can't take the chance of her having any magical training that the monks of Azarath may have taught her. She might actually be able to stop me. It will be safer this way."

Clearly the fear creature didn't understand, but it shut up. Changer felt relieved. She was pretty sure that the creature ought to be renamed "The Nightmare Teenager", it was complaining so much.

A lot of people would find that even scarier, actually.

* * *

Raven looked into the mirror, and took a deep breath. They were leaving soon. She reached onto the shelf and pulled out one of her books on fire magic. She traced the ancient symbols with one hand. As she did so, the light of the Ring of Azar caught her eye. Her throat constricted at the sight of it. The Nightmare Child and its mistress, Changer, had hurt one of her families already. Destroyed it beyond repair. Raven closed her eyes, and grabbed the ring, intending to remove it. It would only get in the way for the battle ahead.

" _Don't,"_  she heard Azar's voice whisper. Raven instinctively turned around, trying to see her mentor, even though she knew that it wasn't going to happen.

"Azar?" she called. Of course, there was no response. She started to pull of the ring again, wondering if she'd hear the voice again.

Nothing happened, but she left the Ring of Azar on anyway.

Better safe than sorry, after all.

* * *

614 Lilac Street was an abandoned warehouse. Robin wasn't surprised Changer seemed to have a flair for the dramatic.

"Ready?" he turned to the others. Nods all around. "Titans! Go!" he called, and they burst through.

The warehouse was mostly empty, and dark. In the center of the room was a computer terminal, at which sat a dark-haired woman in her early twenties. She glanced up at them and raised an eyebrow.

"You took your time," she said lightly, standing up. "But thanks for waiting until I finished my game of Solitaire."

Robin gnashed his teeth. He always hated it when the villains decided that it was fun to act nice to the heroes. It got under his skin for some reason.

"Where's Starfire?" he demanded, glaring at Changer. Changer flashed a smile at him, pressing a few buttons on the computer. The lights flickered on, revealing all of the missing Titans. Kilowatt was wired up, Bumblebee hanging from the ceiling in a jar, Jinx, Jericho, the Herald, and Bushido chained to the wall, and Starfire and Hot Spot in clear plastic tubes.

"Jinx!" Kid Flash yelled, running forward to her, crouching at her side. Changer smirked in a way that Robin would almost describe as triumphant, pressing another button on her keyboard. The speedster let out a howl of pain as he was caught within a Level 4 Containment Field.

Changer laughed, and looked at them.

"¡Más y Menos sí podemos!" the twins yelled, dashing forward in an attempt to help their fellow speedster. Another button on the computer pressed, and the twins were also caught within the containment field. Apparently it didn't just work on the Flash family speedsters, Robin thought, cursing as the young Titans writhed in pain.

Changer pressed a single button, and Robin heard Cyborg curse. "She's got an electricity barrier between us and them now!"

"How high voltage?" Kole demanded, eyes bright and aware. "Can I get through?"

"Gnarrk!" her friend protested.

"I have to try!" Kole said to her caveman friend.

"I think so, but it could be another trap!" Cyborg said.

"No," said a mockingly familiar voice. They all looked up to see Bumblebee, hands on her hips. " _This_ is a trap. Nightmare now!"

The fear creature launched itself through the air, landing on top of Beast Boy. Its eyes grew bright, and it disappeared, apparently into Beast Boy.

Raven gave out a strangely strangled cry, grabbing Beast Boy in her arms.

"Raven," Robin said, kneeling beside her.

"He's afraid. He's so afraid…" Raven muttered, holding him tightly.

"Raven, no!" Robin said, realizing what she intended to do.

His friend ignored him. "Azarath, metriom,  _zinthos!_ " her eyes glowed bright white, and her soul-self launched itself out of her body, going into Beast Boy's own. The sorceress's body collapsed, still holding Beast Boy.

"Five Titans down already," Bumblebee mocked, and their attention returned to her. "And you haven't even been here five minutes. This is going to be easier than I thought."

"Bee?" Cyborg asked, hurt showing on his face.

"Nope," said the girl, beaming cruelly as her form changed to that of Jinx. "Just like adding insult to injury," she said, firing off hexes.

"Shape Changer! Titans, we have a Shape Changer!" Robin yelled, dodging as he pulled out his bo staff, only for it to disintegrate in his hands as one of the hexes hit it.

"Thank you Robin, I think we noticed!" Speedy yelled, firing off his arrows at Changer.

"I think the name might have given us a hint," added Argent, attempting to smash the girl with a hammer of her plasma.

Changer laughed as she transformed into Robin to leap out of the way from the attacks. Lightning gave out a battle cry, and fired his name-sake at her. Still laughing she changed into Kole, allowing the electricity to pass right through her, before launching herself into midair, transforming into Cheshire and slashing at Speedy with her claws.

"Gah!" Speedy said, trying to hold her at bay with his bow. Cyborg fired his sonic cannon at her, only to see her transform into Kid Flash and get out of the way, causing the beam to hit Argent instead.

Robin threw three of his freezing disks at her, only for her to dodge. Aqualad charged, trying to use his enhanced strength, since he couldn't seem to locate any water to control. Smirking, she changed into Starfire, taking to the air and pelting him with starbolts. The Titans scattered in various directions to avoid her, Robin scrambling to remember what fliers were left on his team. "Argent!" he called out.

"Down for the count!" Cyborg snarled. "My fault."

"No, it's not," Robin corrected automatically. "Red Star!"

Sure enough, the oldest Titan took to the air, preparing to fight the girl. Laughing Starfire's laugh, the girl grabbed his arms and swung him around in a circle, like she would sometimes do with Robin, and threw him as far and hard as she was capable of, sending Red Star through the roof.

Thunder and Lightning formed a cloud between the two of them and took to the air, sending bolts of lightning and sonic blasts through the air in an attempt to hit her, while Speedy continued to pelt her with arrows. Smirking a cruel smile that would have fit better on Blackfire's face than on Starfire's, Changer charged towards the young demigods, still firing starbolts as she did so.

They split the cloud as she got near enough, causing her to go right between them. "Ha!" Lightning crowed. "You missed us, Changeling!"

She lunged forward, grabbing Lightning by the throat. "Did I really?" Her form changed into that of Kilowatt, and a smile that Robin hoped never to see on Kilowatt's face again appeared. Thunder lunged forward, howling in fury as his brother was held captive, but an arc of pure electricity flew through the air, hitting him in the chest and sending him to the ground. Aqualad ran to him to see if he was all right.

Changer/Kilowatt started glowing, so bright it hurt to look at her/him. Robin ran up to Speedy, who held an arrow notched, but wasn't firing. "What's wrong?"

"I might hit Lightning!" Speedy snarled, trying to angle the shot so that the fellow Titan wouldn't get in the way.

"Robin," Kole said, eyes wide. "If Kilowatt can absorb electricity, and Lightning's an almost limitless supply...?"

Robin felt the lenses of his mask go wide. "Everyone run!" Changer, however, seemed to take that as her cue to start blasting them. Robin lunged forward, barely avoiding a blast that left a crater in the floor.

Mayhem was ruling as their enemy fired at them, not caring that she was destroying her own headquarters. Robin spotted Aqualad and Speedy trying to drag Thunder out of the way, spotted Pantha attempting to climb up one of the support beams to reach Changer, Cyborg firing his sonic cannon, and Wildebeest yelping as the lightning hit too close for comfort.

Robin grit his teeth. He remembered how difficult it had been fighting the twins the first time they'd met them. Even Lightning alone was a force to be reckoned with. Robin still considered themselves lucky that the boys had listened to Beast Boy's reasoning. Otherwise, who knew how much damage they would have inflicted before they could've stopped the two?

He heard a voice shout, "Gnarrk!" and his eyes were drawn to Kole. The pink-haired girl pushed her friend out of the way, transforming herself into crystal in order to protect herself from the lightning bolt that probably would have killed her friend.

Still glowing too brightly to look at, Changer dropped Lightning on the ground, where he rested, unconscious. She swooped down at Kole, changing into Starfire once again (Robin was eighty percent sure she kept choosing that form just to mess with him), and grabbing Kole, who was still in her crystal form, tossed her into the electric field that surrounded their friends, where Kole stood, unable to change back for fear of the electric current that would easily kill her.

Pantha lunged at her from her position on the support beams, tackling Changer to the ground easily. Switching to Lightning's form, she zapped Pantha, sending the wrestler into oblivion like the true owner of the form she was wearing.

Robin tried to see who was left, tried to calculate a plan. Laughing again, this time with Lightning's voice, Changer aimed a lightning bolt right at him. Robin dodged out of the way, spotting Cyborg and Speedy starting to fire their respective weapons at her. Changing into Kid Flash again, she/he (he  _really_  should stop using pronouns for Changer) tackled Speedy to the ground, before changing into Pantha and snapping the bow in two. Speedy cried out in protest, and then Cyborg tackled Changer.

The shape-shifter hissed in surprise, before changing into Starfire again and forcing him off of her. She leapt though the air, still as Starfire, landing behind him before changing into Cyborg himself and disabling him. "Who's left?" she taunted, looking right at Robin. Robin felt his blood run cold. Who  _was_  left?

"Me!" Aqualad yelled, tackling her from behind.

"When will you heroes learn?" she yawned, transforming into Beast Boy and then into a coral snake in order to slither out of his grasp. Aqualad yelled out in pain as the snake/Changer sunk its/her fangs through the cloth of his unitard and into his flesh.

Aqualad swayed on the spot, feeling the venom seep through his veins already. The last thought he had before passing out was gratitude to his Atlantean physiology that would slow down the process of the venom killing him.

Robin crouched behind Changer's desk, running through the list of Titans in his head, and trying to remember who was left. There weren't many, he knew that much. He hadn't  _noticed_  Wildebeest go down, Speedy was weaponless, but still conscious, Gnarrk he spotted out of the corner of his eye, trying to get to Kole, and Red Star possibly, depending on whether or not he'd been knocked out after that throw.

Robin pulled out his communicator, and dialed, pressing the necessary buttons that wouldn't set off the jingle. He spotted Speedy and Wildebeest's face both appear on the screen, but not Gnarrk. He glanced over, and spotted Changer in Cyborg's form standing near where Gnarrk had used to be, sonic cannon still smoking.

"We need to coordinate!" Robin snarled. "She's taking us down one by one, but she can't fight all of us at once—"

"You sound very sure about that," said Changer, looking in over Speedy's shoulder in her own form. Speedy yelped, and spun around to fight her, dropping his communicator in the process. Robin leapt to his feet, snapping his own communicator shut and charging over to help his friend. He spotted Wildebeest in the distance doing the same.

By the time that the two other Titans had got there, though, Speedy was down for the count. Wildebeest fell quickly to Cyborg's sonic cannon. She turned towards Robin, smirking as she turned into Starfire again. "I think this form is the most fitting, don't you?"

Robin glowered, removing his spare bo staff, and getting ready to fight. A single starbolt flew towards him, and he leapt out of the way, arcing through the air as he charged the shape-shifter. He swung the staff at her, which she blocked casually with her bare hands. Robin struck again, but this time she grabbed his hand and sent him flying. He released the staff easily, reaching into his utility belt and grabbing as many ice and exploding disks as he could, throwing them at her. She took to the air, releasing another onslaught of starbolts as she avoided his weapons. Robin remembered the fight when Starfire had just arrived on Earth, and he felt worried. More than worried. He couldn't beat her. And he knew that Changer knew that. But he wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Crying out, he charged at her again, this time with fists, since his last bo staff was somewhere on the ground. He grabbed a birdarang, using it as a knife as he slashed, attempting to hit her, but her hands were always blocking him, smirking as she refused to allow him to land a single hit. Suddenly, after about a minute of that, she brought up her foot and kicked him right in the chest, sending him flying across the room. Robin could  _hear_  his ribs cracking.

She was there in a second (Robin was pretty sure she'd changed into Kid Flash for a second there), picking him up by the front of his shirt.

"You know," she said, idly transferring her grip to his neck with her other hand, squeezing ever so lightly. "I probably  _should_  keep you alive. I mean, after all, if I kill you, I lose the form…" She looked contemplative. "Ah, but I don't need you. And killing you in  _this_  form?" She used the hand that  _wasn't_  clutching his throat in a way that was making him see spots to gesture to herself. "It's just too perfect to pass up."

Her grip got even tighter, and Robin felt his lungs getting ready to burst, and the room grew fuzzy. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and Robin became ninety nine point nine-nine-nine percent sure that he was dead.

"Leave him  _alone_ ," Starfire declared, just as she had to Slade all those years ago.

* * *

Raven landed, the edges of her cloak swirling around her as she settled into Beast Boy's mind. She hadn't done this in a long time. Raven looked about. She was in the Tower, but she didn't recognize which part. "Beast Boy?" she called, walking forward, ignoring the fact that the Nightmare Child was  _in his head_ , doing Azar knows how much damage.

 _Actually I don't know,_  Azar's voice rang in her mind.

Raven froze mid-step. "Azar?"

 _You don't need to speak out loud child,_  Azar's voice reprimanded.

 _Sorry?_  Raven tried mentally.

 _Better._ Her teacher's voice sounded slightly smug.

_But how are you doing this? You're dead!_

_Thank you for noticing that. It's so nice to know that all those years of teaching you were not wasted._

_Azar!_

_The ring, child, the ring. When your mind is in a relaxed enough state, such as when you're sleeping or unconscious as you are now, I can reach through to contact you. And you really better get moving. The Nightmare Child is probably making your Beast Boy relive every last horrible memory he has, and if I've judged him correctly, he has a lot of them._

_But you always are right about people,_  Raven thought as she took flight.

_That's why I'm worried._

Raven flew through the corridors, which seemed to be exactly the same. "Beast Boy!" she yelled, hearing her voice echo down the hallways. "Beast Boy, where are you?"

"Raven?" she heard in the distance.

 _Hurry._ Azar's voice rang in her head.

 _Will you be able to help me?_  Raven asked as she flew, low and fast.

_Not in the fight. But I can give advice._

_That will have to do,_  Raven thought grimly as she arrived in what ought to be the Titan's Ops. Center. But it wasn't even close to it. It was a room with mirrors on all sides, causing reflection upon reflection. Raven spun around, seeing hundreds of versions of herself in all directions, but no Beast Boy. She was in a maze of mirrors. "Beast Boy?"

Raven cried out, clutching her head and falling to her knees as fear started to overwhelm her. Not her own fear, but—"Beast Boy!"

The whole room felt like it had been drenched in fear. The stench of nightmares that had filled the whole Tower ever since the Nightmare Child had started haunting their dreams filled the air, only more concentrated, more pure. The monster was strong.

She staggered to her feet, only to fall against one of the mirrors. Her eyes widened as she saw what was inside. A tall, beautiful waterfall in a jungle of sorts, and a man, a woman, and a green child in a boat, heading towards the edge.

"Garfield, go!" the woman cried out. "We'll be okay!"

"Mommy?" the boy said, trembling.

"Go!" the man yelled, grabbing him. "Go! Don't worry about us, just fly!"

"Daddy!"

"Garfield, go!" the woman,  _Beast Boy's mother_ , Raven thought, and the boy who would become a Titan obeyed his mother, transforming into a hummingbird and flew away, unable to help his parents as they plunged to their deaths in the rocks below.

Tears were streaming down her face as she pulled away from the mirror, overwhelmed as she was by the sorrow and fear in that memory. "Beast Boy!" she cried out.

 _Focus Raven. You're confusing the fear of the memories with his real fear. Search for_ him _, not the memories. You need to find him quickly!_  Azar said, with that same tone of voice she had used to use when Raven had been four and nearly destroyed the entire monastery after losing control.

Raven pulled up her mental barriers, shutting herself off from the fear that screamed on all sides of her, and got to her feet.

Everywhere she turned, though, she only seemed to find more of Beast Boy's fears, not Beast Boy himself. Terra, smirking cruelly as she closed the crack in the Earth shut on him, leaving him to die. Her own father, leaning against the Tower, using it as a throne. Raven herself, mounting the staircase to become the portal. (Raven pointedly ignored Azar's scolding at that scene.) The Doom Patrol in trouble. The Titans, writhing in pain from Slade's nanobots. Slade. The time that Raven had accidently turned the whole Tower into a horror movie. (Azar had some choice things to say about  _that_.) Cyborg, when they believed he had betrayed them to the HIVE. Robin by Slade's side, his apprentice. The Titans as a row of frozen statues. Raven turned, now hearing Beast Boy's scream echoing through the mirrors. "Beast Boy!" she called, charging forward again.

She froze as she saw the final mirror. Fear drenched this mirror, just like it had the others, but something about it made Raven stop in her tracks. It was herself. Raven stood, horrified, as she looked at the image in the mirror. Hood up, eyes glowing bright white with her power, Raven was reflected in the mirror. "Why am I there?" she whispered, reaching out to touch it, silently begging the mirror to act as a mirror. It didn't.

 _Raven, we don't have time for this! You have to focus!_  Azar yelled at her.

"Why is he afraid of me?" Raven whispered, tears threatening to make their way out of her eyes as sorrow filled her. "Why?"

She heard Beast Boy scream again, but she couldn't move. She couldn't remove herself from that spot as she stared at one of Beast Boy's fears.

 _Raven! He's_ dying _! Exposure to the Nightmare Child for this long, when that thing is directly in his mind, is killing him! If you think the nightmares that the other Titans have been having was bad, this is about a hundred times as bad. At this moment, he is reliving_ every-single _terrifying moment in his life, and that is a lot of them. His heart won't be able to take it that long! He will_ die _!_

Raven unable to tear her eyes away from the image.  _But…_

 _Look at it closely Raven._  Raven looked closely.  _The color of the cloak is off._

Raven looked closely, and felt relief course through her body. Sure enough, the cloak color was red, and she had four eyes. This was her when the demon within her was released. "But it wasn't…"

_The Nightmare Child manipulated your fear of what you expected it to be. It's manipulating your fear of what Beast Boy's fears are._

_Does that even make sense?_

_Just go! You don't have much time. Don't you see? Changer is_ hoping _that Beast Boy dies. And when he dies, she figures that you will lose control!_

_Why would she want me to lose control?_

_Raven! Did you_ not _listen to any of the dreams I've been sending you?_

Raven felt slightly guilty.  _I've sort of set up wards in my room to keep away dreams after I realized that the Nightmare Child had been messing with our dreams._

Raven felt Azar's raw fury contained in a single, calm sentence.  _Well that was stupid of you. Info-dump time then._

Raven fell to her knees as Changer's past flew before her eyes.  _If I lose control, if I go all demon, Changer will be able to absorb me completely._

 _Thank you, Raven, I believe I just told you that. Now can you_ please  _move?_

_But what about the Nightmare Child? It would get destroyed as well!_

_I don't think Changer cares, Raven. The Nightmare Child is dangerous._

Raven got to her feet, and ran.

Raven skidded around a corner, and felt relief as she spotted Beast Boy, on the ground, with Nightmare Child standing above him, mocking him.

"Leave him alone!" Raven cried, charging forward.

Nightmare Child looked confused, cocking its head to one side. "I was told you could not follow me into here."

"Changer lied to you," Raven said, throwing out her hands, recalling the words to the fire spell that she had memorized earlier that day. "Incindiir, vulcanus, miyil!" Flames wrapped themselves around the Nightmare Child, causing the creature to back away, cowering.

Raven flew to Beast Boy's side, checking his pulse. His heart raced, and Raven could feel the fear coming off of him in waves, despite her shields being up. "Beast Boy, wake up! Please, wake up!"

"Raven?" he whispered.

"Yes, I'm here! I'm here!" she nearly sobbed with relief.

"Raven…" he murmured, eyes flickering open.

With a howl, the Nightmare Child threw itself through the flames, screaming in pain as it charged the two of them. Raven's hands went out again. "Incindiir vulcanus miyil!" Raven yelled again, and this time, the fire surrounded her and Beast Boy, cutting them off from the fear monster.

"Beast Boy!" Raven held him close. "Beast Boy, listen to me. I'm here. I'm not going to let it hurt you!"

His eyes stared at her. "Please, Beast Boy. I can't beat it alone." Raven said.

 _Liar_ … Azar's voice said in her head, slightly amused.  _You could do just fine._

Raven grit her teeth, managing  _not_  to think thoughts about how annoying the voice in her head was. "Beast Boy, come on. You're stronger than this."

Beast Boy tried to get to his feet, and Raven helped him up. "Raven?"

"Let's end this," Raven whispered, intertwining her hand with his. "Say the words with me."

"What words?" Beast Boy asked.

"Incindiir," Raven said slowly.

"Incindiir," Beast Boy repeated. The flames grew a bit larger as Raven poured her magic into her voice, and through her fingers into Beast Boy's. Two sources were stronger, even though Azar was probably right about being able to do this on her own.

"Vulcanus," Raven said, annunciating it carefully for him.

"Vulcanus."

The flames turned clear, and the two of them could see the Nightmare Child, skirting away from them, screaming, eyes wide with the emotion it usually caused.

"Miyil."

"Miyil." Beast Boy repeated, smiling as the flames removed themselves from the protecting dome around them, and wrapped around the still screaming Nightmare Child.

Raven raised the hand that wasn't holding Beast Boy's, and closed it, causing the flames to close in on themselves, growing smaller and smaller until they disappeared.

Beast Boy stared at the spot that the Nightmare Child had once stood. "Is it… dead?"

"I don't think so…" Raven muttered. "Something that ancient doesn't die that easily." She pulled Beast Boy into a tight hug. Beast Boy responded eagerly, and Raven savored the lack of fear.

"We should get going!" Beast Boy said suddenly. "The others are still fighting Changer!"

"You're right," Raven conceded. "And they're probably getting destroyed without us. Hold on tight!" She closed her eyes. "Azarath, metrion, zinthos!"

* * *

"Damn it Robin," Raven muttered. "When I said you were getting destroyed without us, I didn't think it would actually be happening!"

"You sound surprised," Beast Boy muttered. "What should we do?"

"This," Raven said flatly, extending her hand. "Azarath metrion, zinthos!"

The source of the Level Four Containment Field shattered, releasing the three speedsters. Kid Flash quickly went to work freeing Jinx, while Más and Menos quickly went to work stopping the electric barrier and releasing Bushido. Once the barrier was down, Kole was free, and she quickly went to work freeing Jericho and the Herald. Raven freed Hot Spot and Starfire, while Beast Boy quickly went to work getting Bumblebee and Kilowatt out.

"Oh, she is  _so_  dead," Jinx whispered, eyes glowing slightly.

"May  _I_  go first?" Starfire asked, her own eyes glowing. "I do believe I wish to perform what is called a 'surprise attack.' My people consider them dishonorable, but…"

"Go for it," said Bumblebee, rubbing the place where the collar had been. Starfire grinned widely, and took off.

"Leave him  _alone_ ," Starfire declared after firing the starbolt.

Changer's expression, on Starfire's face, was hilarious. "How…?" she spotted Beast Boy and Raven and her eyes grew even wider. Her face contorted into an expression of fury as she realized that she had lost.

Switching to Jinx's form, the shape-shifter released another volley of hexes. The real Jinx leapt forward, throwing out her own hexes to counteract Changer's. Changer, far less used to using the magic, was sent backwards by the force.

Kid Flash ran forward, throwing rapid-fire punches at her face, ignoring that he was attacking someone with his girlfriend's—no, fiancé's—face. Yelping, Changer switched to Hot Spot, throwing fireballs at him. Hot Spot grabbed the first one she threw and returned it enthusiastically, sending Changer flying, switching into Robin's form to land on her feet. Lightning was Changer's next choice, sending bolt after bolt at them, causing them to scatter.

The Herald smirked, blowing the horn that Raven had returned to him, sending the bolts far into the sky, where it wouldn't do any damage.

Bushido charged forward, raising his katana—also returned courtesy of Raven—as he did so. Quickly, Changer copied took his form, copying him blow for blow. But Bushido noticed she was weak. Her form was poor, her strength was minimal, and he grinned triumphantly as he started to beat her down.

She switched into Starfire again, and flew into the air, throwing starbolt after starbolt at them, eyes wide with desperation as she attacked. Raven threw up another shield, protecting them.

"She's weakening!" Raven said. "I can feel it!"

"Your shield wouldn't normally take this many starbolts, would it?" Beast Boy said, grinning at her.

"No. She doesn't have much energy left," Raven said, returning the smile despite herself.

Changer landed on the ground, swaying slightly as she did so. She swayed on her feet, and lost the form, resuming her own. Starfire noticed that her hair was snow white now, and there were plenty of wrinkles on her face. Starfire threw another starbolt, directly at her.

Crying out in pain, weak in this form, Changer collapsed on the ground. Her eyes sunk shut.

"Robin?" Starfire flew to him. "Raven! He is injured!"

Raven flew over quickly, summoning her healing abilities to heal Robin's ribs and the bruises on his throat. "I'm not sure if the ribs are cracked or broken, but I think I can at least heal them enough until we get to the Tower…"

Suddenly, Changer leapt to her feet and lunged at Raven, seizing her arm with claws that defiantly had not been there before. Raven felt the world starting to fade, saw dark energy travel across her hands…

" _REVERSAL!"_  Azar's voice screamed, out loud, not just in her head. Raven's head snapped back, and her vision returned to normal. Changer was gone. Where she had been was a pile of dust. An image of Azar, almost like a hologram, hovered above it.

"What did you do?" Raven demanded.

"Reversed the process," Azar said flatly. "I believe the word, "reversal" might have been a hint. She intended to drain your life energy from her, but by my interference, you ended up draining hers. So, congratulations, I think I added another day to your lifespan. Two, tops."

"You could have done this all along?" Raven demanded, glaring at her teacher.

"Well, she needed to touch you first," Azar said glibly. "What? You think I just gave you that ring so that you could contact the spirit world? And speaking of which, I'll need it back."

"Why?" Raven said, curling her hand into a fist instinctively. She didn't have many things left of her home, and was always reluctant to relinquish them.

Azar sighed patiently. "Because no one is allowed to maintain contact with the other world for long periods of time. I was only allowed to because I was owed certain  _favors_  by certain people. Now hand it over."

Raven sighed, but followed through with the first rule she had ever learned within the temple.  _Do as Azar says._

"Good-bye then," said Azar with a smile. "You did well, child."

And then she disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: Just the epilogue left now (should be up next week or so)! Hope you liked the climax!**
> 
> **I really hope you've enjoyed this. I know I have. My next fic in this section (published at around the same time as this is updated) is called "Come With Me?" and is going to a KF/Jinx drabble series. (Updates are going to be much more frequent than they've been with this fic, because fluff and funny stuff is so much easier than plot for me.**
> 
> **This update celebrates my 2nd Aniversary on this wonderful website. It's been a wonderful two years, and I like to think I've come a long way as a writer, from my stupid OC-centric fic that was originally published, to this story now. This is why, any of you people who have me on author alert, might have noticed a sudden influx of updates/new stories. I've published 3 new stories and updated this fic.**
> 
> **I hope you guys have liked, so please leave me a review!**
> 
> **A happy-that you guys know what's going on, but sad that it's over,**
> 
> **Hinn-Raven, signing off.**


	16. Epilogue: Starlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: …I'm kind of in shock right now. It's done. Finished. No more. This has been such an experience for me as a writer. The original idea started out about 2 years ago, when I came up with Changer as a villainess. It really evolved, and by the time it actually started up, I had a lot of things planned, but this story was really fluid in its path. It changed a lot as I went, and I have you guys and your feedback to thank for it. You've all been great, and I really appreciate it. This has been my first proper, full length story that wasn't a parody or a series of one-shots loosely tied together. And you guys have made it a great experience, and I feel like I'm a much better writer than I was at the beginning. I'm not going to keep you from the story any longer, so please enjoy the finale!**
> 
>  
> 
> **Disclaimer: It's the epilogue. I've done about 16 of these by now. If I owned the Teen Titans, and hadn't admitted it yet, why would I do so now?**

As the image of Azar faded, the Titans stared, some struggling to their feet, others still lying on the ground, eyes open.

After a few moments, Beast Boy turned to Raven. "I'm guessing you get your sense of humor from her then?"

Raven's laugh filled the air as she pulled her boyfriend into a tight hug.

The laugh was the catalyst for the Titans. Cheers filled the air, as the rest of the lights turned on, courtesy of Kilowatt. Bumblebee turned to the Herald, smiling as she rubbed the place on her neck where the collar had chafed her. "What do you say? Let's go home."

The clear sound of Gabriel's Horn filled the room, and the portal appeared, with the Titans piling through into the Ops. Center.

Raven and Beast Boy were the last ones through, and the party was already starting up. Music was blaring, a video-game tournament was starting up already, and a dance floor was emerging.

Beaming, Beast Boy pulled Raven onto the dance floor. Raven came to a stop right outside it. She pulled down her hood, and gave Beast Boy a smile.

"You know I'm here, right?" she asked softly, looking at him. The images that she had witnessed in his mind were so clear, so fresh, so  _real_ , that she felt as if they'd been branded on her eyelids.

"Yeah," he said, squeezing her hand. "I know, Rae."

"Good," she whispered, allowing him to pull her on to the dance floor.

"Honestly, Rosabelle, I am fine," Red Star protested as Pantha fussed with the bandages that she was wrapping around his head.

Pantha raised an eyebrow at him. "You have a concussion, Leonoid. You are very far from  _fine_."

Red Star rubbed the back of his neck absently. "Well…yes, but there were many other Titans who were damaged in the battle, many much worse than I."

" _They_ were in range of that shock-wave that the Azar lady sent out when she did her magic-thingy on Changer, and so were healed," Pantha retaliated, glaring at him.

"Honestly, Rosabelle, it was merely a small concussion," Red Star protested, knowing his argument was futile against her and her glorious temper.

Sure enough, Pantha leveled a glare at him that made him feel like a child. "A  _small_  one?" Oh, she was going to yell at him now. He had better do something…

"What I  _meant_  was—" he said quickly, hoping to diffuse her temper. As lovely as she was when she was angry, when she was smiling, she was positively radiant. "—that you should not worry so much. I hate to trouble you."

The words had the calming factor that he'd hoped for. She smiled at him. "It's  _never_  a trouble when it is you, Leonoid," she whispered, pulling him into a kiss.

Red Star was faintly aware of his ears turning the exact color of the byproduct of his powers.

"Jinx!" Kid Flash said joyfully, tackling her. "Jinx, Jinx, Jinx…"

Jinx laughed, turning up her mouth so that she could kiss him. "I take it you missed me then," she said as he pulled away, panting for breath.

He laughed, awkwardly realizing that they were still in the main room, in front of the other Titans. He sat up. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Jinx reassured him, pushing aside a lock of her hair. Kid Flash's eyes grew wide as he realized that she was still dressed in the pajamas that she'd been wearing when she'd been abducted. Tight fitting t-shirt, white shorts…and loose hair.

Jinx seemed to realize it too. "I'm going to our room to change," she muttered, flushing.

"I'll go with you," he said innocently.

"You know, I  _can_  walk to our room on my own, Wally," Jinx said.

"Who says that's why I'm coming?" he said, doing his best impression of a leer. It failed, and Jinx laughed.

They started walking towards the door, before he nearly smacked himself upside the head. "I'm an idiot! I almost forgot!"

He fell to his knee, pulling out the ring he had offered her the night of her abduction. Jinx was  _very_  aware of how every single Titan was looking at them now. "Jinx, the love of my life, will you marry me?" he said dramatically, beaming.

Jinx felt like she was in one of those romance novels that she had used to hide underneath the floorboards in her room, back at the HIVE HQ. She looked into his eyes, and felt pure delight fill her as she realized just how much this meant to him, and to her, if she was being honest.

Jinx laughed. "Wallace West, I already said yes, and it hasn't changed." He slid the ring onto her finger.

Speedy wolf-whistled. "Woo-hoo! Go Kid!"

"Shut up, Roy," the fastest boy alive said, his grin ridiculously large as he wrapped his arm around Jinx's waist as he got to his feet.

"As the best man, I reserve the right to tease," the archer said snootily.

"Sorry Speedy," said Robin. "Best man's already taken, but I'm sure Jinx could use a flower girl."

"Best man? Says the  _Boy_  Wonder," the archer asked, laughing.

As the argument about masculinity started between the two former side-kicks, Jinx and Kid Flash slipped off.

Argent pulled Hot Spot close, feeling the heat of him.

"Argent?" Hot Spot asked, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist.

"I thought I'd lost you," she admitted, trying to hold back the tears—why was she crying now, when she had him back?

Hot Spot laughed, lifting her off the ground to kiss her. "Can't get rid of me, I guess," he said.

Bee lay stretched out on the couch, her head on Cyborg's lap, listening to the music absently as Cyborg ran his fingers through her hair.

She closed her eyes, content. Sometimes, she honestly forgot that parts of him were made of metal. She really ought to tell him that one of these days.

"Bee?" his voice broke through her reverie.

"Yeah Sparky?" she asked, opening an eye to look at him.

"Don't  _ever_  do that to me again," he said.

Bee raised an eyebrow. "Very well then. I'll be sure to inform all enemies of ours that I am no longer allowed to be a hostage."

Cyborg shrugged. "Speedy can take your place. I'm sure he'd be great in damsel-in-distress situations."

"He would be," she agreed, laughing. "I can see it already. Tied to a railroad track—"

"Villain with a moustache—"

"Great big curly handlebar moustache," Bee agreed. "Train ominously in the distance—"

"Don't forget the evil laugh."

"A  _very_  evil laugh. And we better have Speedy in a poufy blue dress while we're at it."

"But wouldn't that clash with his bow?" Cyborg asked innocently, clearly remembering an incident from a while ago, with Speedy refusing to go on an undercover mission in a blue tux for that very reason.

"You're  _right_ …" Bee sighed. "Better make it a red one then."

"Why does  _everyone_  pick on me?" Speedy said, flushing.

"You make it so easy, Arrow-Head," said Bee, rolling her eyes.

"So…" Kole said, looking at her feet.

 _So…_  Jericho signed back, scuffing his shoes on the carpet.

Kole swallowed, feeling very aware of Argent and Hot Spot kissing on the couch.

Jericho was ignoring Red Star and Pantha, fussing over each other.

 _Why was this so awkward?_  Kole thought desperately, knowing she was flushing. "Um… do you want to dance?"

Jericho nodded, looking very relieved that he wouldn't have to ask her to dance.

"Dammit!" Kilowatt snarled. "Come on, I was  _so_  sure—" He pulled out his wallet and tossed two tens into the Herald's outstretched palm as Jericho and Kole walked out onto the dance floor.

The Herald smirked. "Told ya. Jericho's my best friend. Did you really think I'd miss  _that_?" He gestured to the two, who were dancing awkwardly.

"You realize that all Titan girls are taken now?" Speedy asked, leaning back against the wall.

"What about Pantha?" Aqualad asked reasonably, sipping his glass of water.

"Dating Red Star," said the Herald lightly. A smirk on his face indicated that there had been another successful bet on that account.

"Really?" Aqualad looked surprised.

Más and Menos zipped up to their friend, offering a large platter of tacos. "¿Quieres? ¡No pez!" They sang.

"¿No pez?" Aqualad repeated, his accent horrible, as he cautiously accepted a taco.

"¡Sí!"

The Atlantean ate thoughtfully, looking relieved once he recognized Cyborg's cooking. "Gracias."

Wildebeest grunted, and started helping himself from the platter.

"I do not understand what the crystalline one sees in him," Lightning said to his brother.

"Perhaps the crystalline one values silence?" Thunder offered, clearly trying to pacify his brother.

"So, how long do you think we're going to stay here?" Kilowatt asked Bushido, still feeling a bit sulky after the loss of his money.

"Not much longer, I hope. My city needs me, and I do not like to be away from it for very long," the warrior replied.

Speedy wolf-whistled softly.

"What is it?" Aqualad asked.

The Herald grinned at Kilowatt. "Looks like our fearless leader is sneaking off… with a certain red-haired alien in tow…"

"What?" Kilowatt's head snapped around, just in time to see the door to the hallway slam shut on the couple in question. Growling, he pulled out another ten, and handed it to the Herald.

"You seriously bet on that?" Aqualad asked, incredulous. Wildebeest grunted in agreement.

"I figured Batman would've beaten some manners into him," Kilowatt grumbled, crossing his arms.

Speedy snorted. "Seriously? Have you  _met_  Batman?"

"No."

"Figures."

"All these couples," said the Herald, looking mischievous. "It's kind of sad to be single on a night like this, isn't it?"

"Speak for yourself," Aqualad and Speedy chorused.

Kilowatt looked furious. The Herald grinned triumphantly.

"Pay up," the teleporter said with a smirk.

"Dammit, Aqualad!" Kilowatt said, throwing the rest of his money down. "I mean, Speedy I can see, but  _you?_ "

"The fanbase will be  _crushed_ ," said the Herald idly, pocketing his winnings.

"We're not together!" Speedy managed, realizing what they were implying. His face flushed, and he backed as far away from his friend as he possibly could. "We're not!"

"I have a girlfriend!" Aqualad yelped, turning a color that looked very odd next to the blue shading of his unitard. "We are  _not_  dating!"

* * *

Robin examined the bruises on his neck with a frown. Raven had done her best to heal him, but, seeing as she hadn't had much time to before the whole spell reversal thing, and seeing as Robin hadn't gotten around to asking her to heal him yet, they were still quite prominent.

Robin raised his hands to his mask, carefully removing it, and setting it down on the bathroom counter.  _Starfire's_  bathroom counter, that is.

He looked into the mirror, seeing his own eyes, which was a rarity. He wore the mask less and less nowadays, but it was still around most of the time. He now allowed himself to go maskless around Starfire. Speedy, Aqualad, and Kid Flash as well. He felt a small throb of guilt as he realized that he hadn't shown Raven, Beast Boy, or Cyborg his face. But seeing as it had taken him this long to show his face to Starfire…

He wasn't sure why he hadn't done it before. It wasn't like he didn't trust them. He did. With his life, with Starfire's life, and with the lives of every single person in the city that they protected. And it wasn't like they would scream it from the top of the roofs if they knew: all of them had managed to keep secrets from each other for long periods of time before. For Starfire, it had been her status as a Tamaranian Princess. For Raven, it was her parentage and destiny. Beast Boy had hidden his name, along with the source of his powers, from them for ages. Cyborg hadn't informed the team of his accident and the horrible status of his relationship with his father until last year even.

That made Robin the last one to hold onto his secret. Part of him wondered if he could actually do it.

"No more secrets," he whispered to himself. As soon as the rest of the Titans were gone, he'd show them. And while it was true he trusted the other Titans, it didn't mean he would go flaunting his identity all of a sudden.

Bruce would find out, after all.

* * *

Starfire stared out of the window, once again taking in the starlight. Her eye focused on the small, flickering light that was her sun. Her heart ached as she stared at it, knowing that the light that shone was actually ancient.

Starfire missed her home, she would freely admit it. On Earth, things were different. But Starfire still loved it. She loved the plants, and oceans, and the odd skyline, the people, and the odd cultures. This place was now as much of a home to her as Tamaran.

Starfire wasn't a fool. Starfire had known that she had chosen this place as her home the minute she had passed the crown to Galfore.

Starfire was not sure what she would do when she was older, and Galfore would wish to return the crown and the throne to her. There seemed no way she would be able to get out of returning to rule her people. It had been over a year since she had began her search for Wildfire, and still she could find no trace of him.

But Blackfire was not an option, and if Wildfire could not be found, Starfire knew that she would have to return to Tamaran. But could she? Could she leave behind all of this?

Starfire closed her eyes, recalling the nightmare that the Nightmare Child had given her, forcing her to do exactly that.

But outside of the realm of dreams, she didn't think that she could really leave. Blackfire had often taunted her as a child about how Starfire preferred the soft emotions, such as joy and love, over the harder ones. There was a reason that Starfire had been better at flight than Blackfire, but Blackfire had been better at starbolts.

The door to her bathroom opened, and Robin—no,  _Dick_ —walked out, smiling. She flew over to him, landing right in front of him.

Starfire pulled him in for a kiss, savoring the feeling of his lips against hers as she tried to forget the thoughts of the future. She never liked thinking of the future anyway, preferring to enjoy the present. She'd find Wildfire. If not, perhaps Tamaran would have to learn to change and adapt, as she had.

Dick pulled away, smiling at her, his bright blue eyes twinkling. Starfire could not believe that he would hide them from her for so long.

She was looking right at him, she realized with a slight shock. When had he grown that much? They were almost eye to eye, although she was still an inch taller than him.

"I love you," he said, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I love you too," she replied.

"I'm so glad you're safe," he said. "When I got the SOS…"

Starfire smiled at him. "I imagine you felt the same way that I felt when I saw Changer holding you by the throat." She sat down on her bed, allowing herself to look up at him.

"I think so," he agreed. "If you hadn't made it… if she'd have killed you… I don't know what I would have done."

Starfire pushed down the horrible thought of something happening to  _him_. "But nothing happened. We are  _both_  safe." She waited for him to nod in response. "And Dick?"

"Yes Starfire?"

"Stop talking," she said, grabbing his shirt and pulling him off of his feet and onto the bed as she kissed him.

And he  _did_ stop talking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this. If you guys will be missing me, I've been posting a Flinx drabble series for the last three weeks… *grins sheepishly at the self-promotion* And if I have time, (and if I think people would be interested) I might post another story for Teen Titans, "The Legend of Maybe" You can check my profile for details, and vote on the poll to tell me what you think.**
> 
>  
> 
> **Further notes on this story, (the original prologue, told from Arella's POV, the deleted detailed backstory for the Nightmare Child, notes on various relationships and developments in the story, and other things like that which just didn't fit into the flow of the story) will be posted on my LiveJournal account tomorrow or the next day (link on my profile, if you're interested…)**
> 
>  
> 
> **Please leave a review now that it's over! Oh, and speaking of which…**
> 
>  
> 
> **Thank you to: (Brace yourselves. This might be a long one…)**
> 
>  
> 
> **Lala Girl in lala Land, Norvus Ordo Seclorum, Archaint, Redtha, Blazing Moonlight, crazy nerd, ComposerDragon, 0o The-Lady-Luna o0, starlight3395, Linzerj, Pandah N. Reaper, The Cretan, Teen Titans Shocker, lilmissfashonista, lonerinluv, Estringe, Rockinrollchicka, Xxphonenix FlightxX, Maka Chop, chipmunkswillrule, Destiny919, TTArgent, The Odd One95, Asanzy13, Miyu Kuran, ddproxcm, coolgal342, i'll pee on everything u luv (seriously?), and last, but definitely not least, the wonderful ElvenQueen18, who left me a review every single chapter! You guys were all wonderful, and it kept me going.**
> 
>  
> 
> **Also, and additional thanks to my amazing beta-reader, Tari Simarlwen, who put up with my horrible spelling and grammar, lack of fluidity, botching of emotional scenes, etc.**
> 
>  
> 
> **For the final time on this story,**
> 
>  
> 
> **This is Hinn-Raven, signing off.**


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